Caught in the Whirlwind
by Wanderingbrowneyes
Summary: Alex and Piper early years, hope to continue. All characters belong to Orange is the New Black, Jenji Kohan and Piper Kerman. Some quotations are taken directly from the show and the book.
1. Chapter 1

*I own nothing, no copyright is intended.*

As this progresses, songs mentioned will be updated here:

The Darkness- I Believe in a Thing Called Love

White Stripes- Seven Nation Army

Overture- The nutcracker Ballet (Tchaikovsky)

Evanescence- Bring Me to Life

Pat Benetar- Love is a Battlefield

Celine Dion- Declaration of Love

Fine Young Cannibals- She Drives Me Crazy

Latimore- Move and Groove

No Doubt- Girls Get the Bass in the Back (Hey Baby Remix)

Toxic- Britney Spears (Peter Rauhofer remix)

Survivor- High on You

Kelis- Milkshake

* * *

1

They lie on the amply stuffed brown leather couch, Piper upright facing the condescending tone of Mr. Trebek, Alex on her back, one leg extended underneath Piper, the other bent in a "passé."

"In the nutcracker, this fairy rules the Kingdom of the Sweets" came blaring from the set, "Sugar Plum Fairy!" excitedly squeed Piper. The blonde's decibel broke Alex away from the frantic clacking that she'd been at on the laptop that lay warmly against her abdomen. She subtly pushed her neck back into the supportive pillow and dipped it toward the right, around her computer, spying on the younger blonde. Without breaking her eye contact from the T.V., Piper turned her chin slightly toward the supine figure,

"you know, as a kid, if I flipped through the channels and this ballet was on, the music always caught my ear but we never actually went as a family to see it live."

Alex nodded twice taking in what Piper was saying, not knowing if the other woman was actually talking to her or just verbalizing her realization. Piper leaned forward, putting slight pressure against Alex's foot, and lifted her glass of wine off the table. She reclined back, while Alex continued to stare at the blonde, the side lamp casting a yellowy glow, accentuating her beauty. Piper took a large sip of wine, making her cheeks imperceptibly bulge as Alex simultaneously curled her toes towards Pipers ass causing her to slightly choke on the contents within her mouth, the wine escaping down the corners. Alex slid her laptop onto the coffee table, shifted her position so that she faced Piper, one elbow on the arm of the couch, the other catching the droplets 2 seconds from falling from Pipers chin. Alex chuckled and licked the morsel of wine off of her fingers just before pressing her lips to Pipers. "Yum" she blankly stated and pushed herself off of the couch to grab a beer from the fridge.

"Want anything from the kitchen?" she called out.

"I'm on my third glass of wine, Al,- I haven't eaten anything, but these old grapes are deceptively filling."

"That's great Piper, very healthy, just polish off my fav from Bordeoux without any food." Alex padded back over towards the couch, "just let me finish this and we'll go grab dinner" she said her head pointing in the direction of her laptop.

Piper got off the couch and snaked herself between the older woman and the table, placed her knees on the outsides of Alex's knees, extended her arm and pushed her back against the couch.

Alex raised her eyebrows, "mental note made to import another bottle of that Beychevelle."

Piper leaned forward and caught Alex's bottom lip between her teeth just as she was finishing her smart ass comment. Never needing prompting, Alex slipped her hands around the small of Pipers back, slipped her palms beneath the elastic of the blondes' pants and panties and squeezed her toned ass. Piper scooted closer so that her breasts were level with Alex's eyes, their happy places solely separated by a few mere layers of fabric. Alex's hands made their way up the other woman's back, dragging her nails against her skin, hooking her pinkies underneath the fabric of her shirt.

"Get rid of it," Piper said in breathy grunt.

"Say please," replied a deep sultry voice.

"Please, Alex, fucking take it off." Alex slowly lifted the girls loose fitting white v neck over her torso, her breasts, and finally over her head. She tossed it to the side, and replaced her hands back to Pipers ass. She gently lifted the girl using her thighs and scooted closer to the edge of the couch. She nuzzled her head underneath the blonde's right breast and nibbled at the base, alternating between nips and kisses. Piper moaned out, grinding her center against Alex's pubic bone. Noticing her reaction to the nibbles, Alex leaned Piper away from her, as if to dangle her off the edge of the couch, causing more space between them.

"No, no, no" Piper breathed out, "I need you against me," she swallowed, trying to remain composed; she tried to say what she needed, "your lips against my skin." Alex smirked, watching her struggle, beg. She tilted her down further away, put one arm behind her neck and laid her upper back onto the coffee table, the other hand finding its way down the front of the blonde's pants. Piper pushed her pants down slightly, as Alex gently stroked the full length of Pipers pussy from clit to her opening.

"Oh my gawwwwwd, Alex please, just take me, stop teasing." Without saying a word, Alex continued to stroke Piper in figure of eights, making Piper tremble and tilt her hips towards Alex's delicious hands. Piper started to whimper, as she continued to seek out Alex's hand, when Alex finally relented, and slid two fingers into a soaking wet Piper. She pushed her hip against her hand, humped against it and put a gentle but firm pressure deeply into Pipers center. Piper moaned deeply and clawed at Alex's back. Alex curled her fingers and slowly stroked Piper from inside, while Piper moved her hips against the curl teasing her g spot and rode her fingers hard. Alex continued to thrust her fingers "harder", as demanded by Piper, until she felt Pipers thighs squeeze around her torso. She just stared into the blonde as she clenched around her fingers, tilting her head back and came. Alex slowly removed her hand, licked her fingers, and pulled Piper back up onto her lap.

"You are gorgeous when you come" she whispers into her ear. Piper nuzzled into the raven haired woman's neck and planted gentle kisses along the underside of her jaw; she sucked slowly along the point that made Alex squirm, when she felt two hands on either side of her face pull her away,

"ahhh, no you don't. I really gotta finish this babe, and I don't want to rush."

Piper inhaled, and exhaled silently and just kissed Alex on the temple. "I'll just go get dressed, you won't be long?"

"Ten minutes tops, promise."

Piper rose lazily off the couch, almost tripping over her own feet and made her way down the long hallway toward Alex's bedroom.

Alex snickered, and shook her head from side to side. "Pipes, you wanna just order in?" she called out.

Piper came back from down the hall, goofily smiling and smushed the side of her face against the wall, "do you mind? I'm actually kind of sleepy."

"Yeah it must've been real challenging, answering trivia questions, getting sloshed and fucked."

Pipers jaw dropped and eyes widened, she exhaled, let her eyes squint toward the brunette and pursed her lips. "If I serve no purpose here, I can always leave you know!"

Piper technically lived in an apartment with two roommates who'd been dating since high school but 10 months ago when the tornado that is Alex ripped through her path, she had practically abandoned it and took up residence in the brunette's spatial sanctuary. Alex's apartment was modern, exposed bricks with alternating white walls, and trinkets scattered throughout, evidence of a girl well-traveled. Everything was very clean and neatly organized, as if it wasn't lived in but sporadically visited.

Enter Piper.

The blonde would go to her own place every now and again to pick up "my journal," or, "my sneakers," but ended up bringing a small duffel bag's worth of personal items each time she returned. As each day passed, Alex would find something new, melding among her own possessions. A "Smith College" mug on the dish rack, a lone pink sock under the bed, little golden hair clips scattered over the bathroom sink that were made to pin up straw colored hair. Normally her stomach would tighten if she walked into such disarray but she never minded Piper's mess, she didn't realize how fond of the girl she had become.

"I'm just fucking with you, I heart 'inebriated just-fucked Piper' and you're not going anywhere," she said with a glare in her eyes that lured Piper nearer, "what do you feel like eating?"

The corner of Pipers mouth turned up, "well apparently I wasn't clear before."

"As appealing as I am, can you please order us something? I can practically see your shoulder bones sticking up through your shirt and I'm fucking starving!"

Piper ordered Thai and within an hour they were slurping on the last of their noodles. With heavy eyes, Alex moaned as she savored her last forkful of guai-tiaw. Piper admired her sounds and whispered "you're such a gourmand, you always act like you haven't eaten in days."

Alex's jaw froze, mid-chew, tonguing her cheek, "I just appreciate good food. And besides, you're the one always snapping pictures of your dishes, you'd think you would understand." Piper raised her eyebrows as her lips spread out in a smile.

They both arose from the couch, Alex cleared their plates into the kitchen, as Piper went to the bedroom to turn down the bed. They washed up and crawled under the sheet; Alex removed her glasses, placed them on her nightstand and turned her lamp off. She felt Piper, entwine her fingers into her own and Alex caught her breath. Alex laid still for a while and listened as Pipers breathing became deeper and more spaced. Though the room was so dark she couldn't see anything, she turned her head towards the blonde,"Pipes?" She received no answer. Alex turned onto her stomach, softly chuckled and whispered, "good night kid," and slumped an arm over Pipers middle, shortly drifting off and meeting Piper in her dreamy slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Piper stared at the twin belled alarm clock inches from her face. 5:57. Her body naturally arose around six A.M. each morning. She was a habitual runner, the distance didn't matter, as long as she could feel her feet hit the pavement and let her mind drift off, she was satisfied. She slipped out of bed, got herself dressed and pecked a sleeping Alex on the cheek. She placed her earbuds in her ears, hit play and headed east on Grove. She reached the part of the street where Christopher turned into West 9th and kept eastbound. She planned on running crosstown til she hit the East River. She jogged in place at the corner of Broadway and East 9th waiting for the light to change, when The Darkness' lyrics slithered through her ears…

_I want to kiss you every minute, every hour, every day_

_You got me in a spin but everything is A.O.K! _(She smiled to herself, and shook her head.)

_Touching you, touching me_

_Touching you God you're touching me _(She changed directions and started heading north up Broadway.)

_I believe in a thing called love_

_Just listen to the rhythm of my heart._

Piper pressed on until she reached the Union Square Farmer's Market. Stopping herself and assuming a tripod position for a minute, she then walked along the stands admiring soaps, pieces of art and fresh produce. She fished out the $20 she had in her shoe, paid for a small bouquet of wild flowers and a carton of fresh blueberries. She walked back towards Alex's apartment basking in the sunshine on this cool late Autumn morning, taking in the sights and smells of Saturday morning New York.

Arriving at Alex's, she located the biggest glass she could find, which ended up being a highball from Alex's liquor cabinet and made a mental note to herself that this woman needed a vase. She placed the flowers in the glass and set it aside. She scurried around the kitchen as quietly as she could, grabbing eggs, milk, flour, some baking powder, and sugar and started on a fresh batch of pancakes. She placed the blueberries on top of the pancakes just as the wet side started to bubble and she delicately flipped each one. After building a short stack, she placed a tiny bottle of maple syrup on the edge of the plate, grabbed the flowers and headed back towards the bedroom. Alex was still sleeping, lying on her back, with one arm outstretched towards where Piper had lain a little more than an hour prior. She placed the dish and flowers on the night stand and sat beside Alex. She stared at the woman, admiring each curve of her face, the curl of her lashes, the little hairs on the back of her neck. Her eyes glanced lower and she suddenly became jealous of the sheet that hugged the brunette's breasts. She gently stroked her hand behind the dark haired woman's nape and planted a soft but lingering kiss to her lips. It took a few seconds, but Alex pursed her lips and kissed back. She inhaled and broke the kiss.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty, or with all this dark hair," she twirled a lock of Alex's hair around her fingers "should I call you Snow White?"

"Ha, you wish I was a Disney Princess." She wrinkled her forehead and squinted her eyes. "Did you cook?"

Piper reached over towards the nightstand, while Alex propped herself up onto her elbows, and held the plate in front of Alex's nose with both hands. "This is really just so I could hear you moan again" and she started to giggle.

Alex smirked, and was going to reply cheekily but all that came out was "this smells incredible, thank you."

Piper grabbed the glass of flowers and held them out with a straight arm, "and this is apparently because I'm a hopeless romantic. Do you realize that you don't have a vase? I had to use a booze glass."

They both laughed and Alex shrugged. "I've never gotten flowers before. Never needed one." She used the fork to slice into her pancakes, forked a large mouthful, moaned and then covered her mouth with one hand trying to stifle her laughter. "I do moan whenever I eat, what the hell? now I'm going to be all self-conscious you little shit! Sucking the pleasure out of my meals." As she was half way through her pancakes, she realized Piper was all sweaty. "Why are you all glowy?"

"I went for a run before I made breakfast?"

"Wh-what time is it?"

"7:30"

"Jesus, Richard Simmons, it's 7:30 and it's a damn Saturday."

"Yes 7:30, half of the city has already accomplished the majority of their goals for the day Alex, and with that I need to shower and get ready for work. I have the brunch shift and Polly texted me, I need to stop at my place after and grab a few things."

Alex reached out and stroked her thigh, "you know, you really don't have to work."

"Oh? Well I still have to pay my share of the rent, my phone bill, things like that, really, I gotta get ready or I'm going to be late." She pecked Alex on the side of her mouth and headed for the bathroom.

Piper's parents transferred money into her bank account monthly still, like they had while she was in college. Piper worked 4 days a week, part time at a little restaurant that paid her about half of what she needed to make rent each month, never mind what would be her living expenses, like food and laundry, if she hadn't been spending so much time with Alex. She kept the job to make her feel less entitled, and to remove herself from Alex's work that made her feel so uncomfortable, even if it was only for 20 hours a week.

Alex set herself up at her office desk by the large bay window, her back towards the door. Piper was dressed and ready for work, she slung her apron over her arm, grabbed her purse from the hall and walked over to the doorway. "See you tonight?"

"Mmmm, hmm. Hey, wanna go out to dinner? Make up for last night's laziness?"

"Sure!" Piper replied excitedly, raising up on her toes.

"You said you had to pick some stuff up at your place right? I can pick you up at 6?"

"Yes! That would be great, I'll see you later."

"Wear something nice" she said lastly, never looking over her shoulder.

Piper turned on her heel to head towards the door, a wide smile plastered across her face.

"I need coffee," Alex grumbled, "waking up at this ungodly hour. I'll walk you out."

The two headed towards the front door, when Alex stopped dead in her tracks and saw flour scattered over the counter, juice remains on the floor from a previously stepped on blueberry, and the rest of the ingredients still on the kitchen island. She placed her index finger and her thumb on the inner corners of her eyebrows and spread them over the full length closing her eyes.

One corner of Pipers mouth dragged down, "sorry, ill get it later."

Alex opened one eye, the other being pressed closed with her hand still over her face and just glared at Piper.

"Oh come off it, Snow White, I gave you breakfast in bed, I said I'd get it later."

Alex dropped her hand from her face, shooed her hand towards Piper, "see you later" and gently pushed her out the door. She put both her hands in her hair, and then suddenly calmed. She started cleaning up the mess and thought about the constant that Piper had become in her life. Yes she made a mess, but she tried to take care of her, doting around the place like a housewife. It wasn't intentional, the role the younger woman occasionally took on, but it was dawning on Alex, how accustomed she had become to Piper.

Piper bussed her last table, rinsed her hands in the sink and slumped onto a metal stool in the large restaurant kitchen. She pulled her phone out of her apron and sent a text to Alex.

_Soooo, where are we going tonight?_

_I don't know, I guess you'll see later. Almost done over there?_

_Hmmm. Why do I have to wear something nice then? Yes. Finally done, I didn't get a break all day._

_Because I want to see your fine ass in something nice, ok? Poor working girl._

_This ass? _(_I_)_ I miss you._

_I miss you too kid, see you later._

Piper sighed at the thought of making her way all the way to her place, but got the motivation when she thought about her night ahead with Alex. It had only been 10 months since they met, they went on 2 dates during the initial month, but then Alex's job, which she confided involved importing heroin as a lead member of an international drug cartel, required her to spend time out of the country for 4 full months after their second date. They talked via text and shared many phone conversations but now that she'd been back for the last 5 months, whenever Piper was separated from the older woman, she found herself longing to be near her, wondering what she was doing, hoping she was safe.

She climbed the 4 flights of her walkup to her apartment, let herself in and laid on the couch. One of her roommates, and college friend, Polly walked in, eating a bowl of cereal for a late lunch. "Well look who's alive and well, so glad you could let Pete and I know you still live here other than your portions of the bills getting paid each month. That giant still making you cum seven times a night?"

"Hey, don't be bitter because I'm with someone who's mastered the horizontal chacha, ok?"

Polly rolled her eyes and whined "this bowl is so heavy, it's like my hand has no strength." She placed the bowl down on the table, while Piper looked at her like she was a lunatic, when then sunlight caught the new ring on Polly's fingers. "Ahhhhhh" Piper screamed grabbing both of her friends hands as they jumped up and down and hugged. "It's beautiful! When did he ask? How did he do it?" Piper pulled her friend into a hug again. Polly went over all of the details of Pete's proposal and how even though she knew they would end up together, that she hadn't expected him to ask anytime soon. She was so excited and Piper was excited for her friends future.

"Anyways back to your sexcapades," Polly said spooning another mouthful of now soggy cereal. She sighed,"whatever, as long as you're going home to the same person every night- I guess I can't say shit. You just u-hauled out of here, and into her place, it got exclusive really quick, no?"

Piper narrowed her eyebrows, she hadn't really thought about the status of their relationship. She was just having fun. Wasn't she? She had no intention of seeing anyone simultaneously while she was with Alex, but she didn't know if Alex had been with anyone else since they'd met.

"I don't know if we're exclusive" she said, looking suddenly heartbroken. She placed her hands together as if she was praying and placed the tips of her fingers against her lips. Her heart sank at the thought of sharing Alex with someone else in the universe. It wasn't until her best friend asked about their status, did she realize she was falling in love with Alex. She had just adapted her life to Alex's, not analyzing much of what had become their relationship. She hadn't thought about what anything really meant other than the day they met. That evening was full of if/then's and the feelings pulsing through her body. She thanked the higher powers above that she was dopey enough to order a margarita in the winter, making herself an easy prey to approach and ridicule.

"W-w-wait…" Polly spit out, putting her cereal down, hand on her hip, "you've had no discussion about being with other people? Piper you practically live there, she let you invite me over to her place while throwing a party that, I'm sorry, screamed that she was trying to impress you and hello, _the_ most important person in your life."

"I don't know, I don't want to freak her out by asking her what 'we' are, if we're even a 'we.' She hasn't really mentioned past relationships or anything. I mean _be-lieve_ me, it's clear she's been with her share of females, but not much else is clear. I don't want to think about it. I need to get some stuff together and get ready for tonight."

"Where are you off to now?"

"Dinner. She said to wear something nice, but she also said it was because she wanted to see my quote on quote fine ass in something nice, not that we were going anywhere special."

"Well, regardless of what you're doing tonight with that vampire, I'm happy for you. I've never seen you so excited and dreamy about _anyone_ like this before. She just better not do anything stupid. What does she say when you keep bringing crap tons of stuff to her place?"

"Nothing. She's never mentioned anything about my things there."

Polly raised her eyebrows, rubbed Pipers head and walked away.

Downtown, Alex walked into the lobby of Lincoln Center and headed towards the will call window of the box office. "Picking up tickets for tonight, last name Vause." Alex headed back toward her car and drove uptown to meet Piper.

Piper ran around the apartment, looking for her other black heel. It was 5:45, she hobbled around with one shoe on, she couldn't find her earrings, and her hair wasn't completely dry. "Polly, I can't find my black closed toe heel, can you help me look for…." The doorbell rang. "Oh my God, shit! Polly!" Piper yelled out and went over to the intercom, "Alex?"

"Yeah I'm here."

"Alex I'm so sorry, I'm not ready, can you come up? I just need like 10 minutes"

"Yeah sure, take your time, I'm coming up."

Alex climbed the four flights, reaching the outside of Pipers door, cursing under her breath. She knocked twice.

Polly answered. "Hi Alex. Pipers just getting ready just come in and wait a minute?"

She walked Alex into their living room which was a hodge podge of family hand me down furniture with a smattering of Ikea. She sat on the couch, while Polly sat on the arm of one of their chairs, one leg crossed over the other. "Look I know we got off on the wrong foot, but…"

"We did?" Alex asked confusedly.

"That time we met at your place? You called me Holly."

Alex looked at her confusedly, with a fish hooked eyebrow inquiring for her to get to the point.

"It's Polly!," she said almost shouting.

"I know Im just messing with you, I was well on my way to a pretty nasty hangover at that point. I was celebrating a big night, work wise."

She exhaled dramatically but nodded as if it was no big deal, not wanting to give the amazon the satisfaction of riling her up. "It's cool, so where are you guys off to tonight? Piper should be ready soon, you know how she is, can't find anything."

"Just dinner and a show, don't mention it though alright?"

"Polly can you come help me with this?" Piper shouted from down the hall.

Polly went to whatever was left of Pipers bedroom and helped zip up the back of her dress. She caught a glimpse of her friends blushing cheeks in the mirror. "Hey, whats up, why are you freaking out? This isn't like your first date with her for Christ's sake."

"She's in our tiny, messy apartment Polly! I'm rushing around, and now I'm thinking about what I'm even doing with her-what she even sees in me."

Polly poked her head into the hall and saw Alex standing near their large bookshelf, which held photos from more recent days and the past. Alex crouched down and lifted one of Piper and her brother in a silvery frame, she couldn't have been more than 7. She traced the frame with her thumb and smiled. Polly pulled Piper gently towards the hall. "You don't just do that if you're goofing off with someone. C'mon now, you look beautiful, go."

Piper made her way down the hall and Alex stood up, adjusting her glasses. "You look… amazing."

Piper further blushed and she eyed Alex in her form fitted navy blue dress. "Thanks, I'm sorry I made you wait. I," she stumbled over her words, " I love… that dress on you." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Polly I'll see you later."

They were walking out the front door when Piper saw the bag she packed with more outfits and comforts of "home." She didn't know where to call home anymore; one place contained more of her belongings quantitatively, but she felt more at peace and longed to spend most of her time in the other. She walked past the bag and pulled the door closed behind her, when she felt the door pull back. Polly stood in the doorway clutching Pipers bag,

"you forgot this and heaved the heavy bag toward her friend.

"It's fine, just leave it here" she gritted through her teeth trying to push the bag back toward Polly.

"I got it" and Alex took the bag from Piper, threw it over her shoulder, and started down the stairs. Piper turned toward Polly with a "what the fuck?!" look on her face and followed behind Alex careful not to wipe out down the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Alex popped the trunk of her car and placed Pipers bag in the back. She walked around to the passenger door and opened the door while nodding her head towards it, "well are you getting in or are we going to freeze our asses off out here?"

Taken aback by the chivalry, Piper snapped her head back to reality, gave a closed mouth smile, ducked her head and slowly descended into Alex's sports coupe. Piper started flipping through the radio and settled on a station that was blaring the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army." Alex started tapping the steering wheel, while Piper recreated the beat singing "bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow, bow." "Did you know that the background beat isn't a bass but made by a 50's Kay Hollowbody acoustic guitar?"

Any time Piper rattled off some bit of information, important or useless it didn't matter, Alex was turned on. She liked facts as much as she enjoyed her fantasy. "My little savant, how do you know about so much random shit?"

My. _My?_ Her heart thumped against her sternum. Did she slip? Did she use possessives for everyone or did she really think Piper was hers? She felt cool fingers wrap around her wrist. "Piper?" She saw a dark painted fingernail swirl in front of her eyes, "hellooo? We're here. Are you alright? You've been spacing out." Piper looked up at the front of the Gramercy Tavern, from what she could tell by the large window was a rustic chic restaurant.

"2 under Vause," Alex told the hostess near the doorway. The space was adorned with white and colorful lights for the holidays. They were seated, and began to peruse the menu when Pipers eyes went wide at the Prix Fixe and wine prices. It was definitely not an overtly fancy place and Alex had always been honest with her when she wanted to take her someplace impressive but she had just brushed this off as a regular night, and she was about to drop a couple hundred dollars easy, on dinner for two. Alex had an eye for restaurants that prepared quality food with a new awareness of where it came from due to Pipers constant inquiries about the GMO's, humanity of the animals being raised, and pesticide use. Alex decided on the "Pasture Raised Chicken," she said embarrassingly slowly to the waiter staring directly into Pipers eyes, "and sausage with apples, kohlrabi and dumplings." Piper ordered the Pork Loin and Deckle with collard greens, sweet potato and kohlrabi. Alex leaned forward slightly toward Piper, "another go at a Bordeaux?" "Definitely" Piper approved quickly, remembering the wine she devoured the night prior. "We'll take the half bottle of your Saint-Julien, Léoville-Las-Cases, Deuxième Cru, please." Piper was entranced at Alex's perfect French pronunciation.

"So tell me, why were you freaking out about your bag earlier? You said you needed to get some stuff- anything in there I shouldn't see?" Piper noticed her eyes dancing back and forth.

"Oh no, it was nothing- nothing in there you shouldn't see, I have nothing to hide. It was just some more clothes and junk really." She sighed. "Polly said something to me; I just didn't think it was necessary for me to bring more into your space," she continued, tracing her nails along the table cloth.

"What did she say exactly? Are you feeling nervous?" Piper's eyes remained on her own hands. "Here take a sip." She poured some of the wine into her glass and rubbed the other womans' hand.

"Nothing Alex, really, it's really very stupid. No, I'm not nervous, it is, it's just really hot in here," she gulped down the remaining contents of her glass.

"Oooook" she remarked, adjusting her glasses.

Piper brought two fingers to her temples and rubbed. "This is ridiculous, you know she just made me feel kind of pathetic, continuously adding more of my mess to your apartment, asking too many juvenile questions that honestly hadn't even crossed my mind and now I'm obsessing over and…"

"Whoa there kid, slow down, take a breath. First of all your mess is welcome, whatever makes you comfortable, bring it, hell bring everything you've got over, I don't…." she paused.

"You don't what?" she asked immediately.

Alex exhaled deeply, she rubbed the side of her foot along the inside of Pipers ankle and slowly dragged it up her calf. "I was just saying, you could move in. I mean you don't have to, I don't want to rush you into anything."

Piper's lips tightened. Was she hearing what she thought she was hearing? The whole last hour she felt like she was on the urge of vomiting over subconsciously moving her life little by little over to Alex's and now it seemed as though Alex subconsciously spat out what she really wanted as well. They were on the same page, someone high above pulling their silky marionette strings, weaving their paths.

All too obvious to Alex, Piper never responded to the offer as if it wasn't even mentioned. "Polly said I 'u-hauled' my way in." Alex held her hands and smoothed the skin over Pipers palms with her thumbs. Their food was placed in front of them. Piper waited for Alex's moan, while Alex, now all too conscious of her habit, raised a hand and frankly said "Shut up." Their dinner conversation was comprised of small talk and nonsense. Alex placed her card in the bill holder and excused herself to use the restroom. As she returned she pulled the tickets out of in the inner pocket of her blazer, slipped her arms around Pipers shoulders from behind and asked her "Wanna be my date?"

Piper's eyes adjusted to the close proximity of the papers dangling in front of her and read, "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker."

"Alex! Tonight? Like right now?," she jumped out of her chair and embraced the tall brunette in a tight hug. "Thank you! I'm so excited! Off course I'll be your date."

The women got back into Alex's car slightly comatose from the all of the food and wine and headed towards Lincoln Center. Once settled into the velvet seats, Piper's mind finally slowed down. She turned her neck to take in the size of the space, the pre-theater chatter among the audience. Piper was a true thespian, loving every type of live performance. She majored in theater, appreciated all the fine details of costuming, workshops the cast read through, the reasons why specific props were chosen over others, the journey of the development the piece went through before it had it's opening night. She was about to witness a classic that she had never managed to see in her entire 23 years and she hoped she could soon show Alex her gratitude. The lights started to dim, her hand sought Alex's, and once she found it she squeezed it gently as the Overture began. Throughout the show Alex peered at Piper out of the corner of her eye. She gazed adoringly at the girls' reactions to the snow falling, the mice coming to life, the strength of the full orchestra pit, violins, bassoons, the deep drawl of the cello. She was entranced, eyes wide, literally sitting at the edge of her seat. Despite Alex's caution, Piper felt her gaze, she turned towards Alex, mouthed "thank you so much" and planted the softest kiss on her mouth. They got back into Alex's car and started heading back to Alex's apartment. Piper regaled about her favorite parts of the show, chattering about a mile a minute while Alex just listened to her summary.

As they rounded the corner of Alex's street someone covering Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life" was heard each time the bars door opened and closed. Piper, much too high off the ballet she just witnessed, was too excited to settle in for the night, so she grabbed Alex by the hand and dragged her inside the Stonewall. A sign advertising "2 for $10 shots of premium tequila" was displayed above the bar and within minutes Piper and Alex clanked their shot glasses together and downed the contents. Piper eyeballed the small platform towards the back where the karaoke machine was set up when she felt Alex give her a gentle shove and heard her say "go for it Piper." "Yeah, I'll be needing more than one shot of tequila if I'm going to serenade you."

With that Alex sauntered over to the bar and brought back two more shots of tequila and again they said their cheers and downed the shot. Alex shook her head at the bitterness. Her drink was normally Southern Comfort mixed with cranberry or grape juice; Piper loved tequila. Some of the people getting up to sing were very talented and so the small amount of courage created by her tequila quickly shattered. Piper went up to the bar grabbed a shot glass in each hand and made her way through the crowd back to the tall table where Alex was leaning against on her elbow. She lifted the glass to her mouth, sucked it down and slammed it on the table. She quickly scooped up the second, repeated and then jumped up and down, getting chills all over her body.

"Trying to drink your body weight kid?

Piper placed her arms around Alex's neck and leaned into her dark hair inhaling her scent. She sucked on her earlobe, pecked her on the cheek and made her way to the platform. She stepped onto the platform and began her tribute to Pat Benetar. She pointed between herself and Alex "We are young, heartache to heartache we stand," while Alex just cupped her chin just covering her lip with her pointer finger, chuckling. She continued, she raised one arm in the air, "no promises or demands…" Piper closed her eyes and lowered the hand with the mic onto a rail surrounding the platform. She looked as though the room was spinning though it seemed to have passed because she picked up, now pointing both of her arms at a complete stranger "we are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong, searching our hearts for so looooong…." It hit her again, this wave of nausea, that made her face flush- she was going to puke. She put the mic down forcefully making a screeching noise that could be heard throughout the bar. She made her way through the thick crowd, starting to panic, having no idea which direction the bathroom was in. She staggered sloppily along the sticky floor, until she saw the reflections of some flashing lights from the outside traffic and headed for the main door. Alex called out to her, but her voice was enveloped in the laughter, the blaring music and conversations throughout the cramped place. Piper felt her gag reflex give, she needed 5 more feet to clear the exit but she couldn't make it and she threw up right against the glass of the main door.

Completely mortified, she found a clean spot on the door, placed her hand against and it pushed it open, freeing herself into the cold NY air. She ran for 10 seconds as far as she could being drunk and in heels, and Alex quickly caught up despite her gasping for air between her hearty laughter. She placed an open palmed hand on the girls back and blankly said "one shot too many Pipes, let's go home." Alex caught the last word just as she said it, was it Piper's home too now? She hated the vulnerability coursing through her body. She noticed the blonde hadn't answered but didn't want to press the matter when she seemed so internally stressed. She draped Pipers coat over her shoulders, and semi-supported her weight as they walked the three blocks towards Alex's apartment. Piper christened the garbage can on each corner along the way, the rancid smell of tequila mixed with pork chops, causing her stomach to churn and continue to find more for her to purge. Humiliated between the projectile vomiting at the Stonewall, which she was now pretty positive she'd be banned from re-entering since she ran instead of assisting with the clean up, and the fact that Alex had witnessed it as well as the repeat performance the whole way home, she wanted to lift the nearest sewer cap and descend into the literal bowels of the city.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Alex got her into the bathroom and helped lift her dress over her head, as Piper slid down the side of the wall, laying against the cool tile. It wasn't long before she heaved again, Alex held her hair away from her face and rubbed her back. "I'll be right back Pipes," she turned the water on in the tub and walked out toward the kitchen. She made a cup of ginger tea, something her mother always made her whenever she had an upset stomach, and headed back to the bathroom. Pipers arms were slung over the edge of the tub, face pressed against the white porcelain. Alex helped remove the rest of her clothes, placed a capful of lavender bath oil into the water and lowered Piper into the tub. Alex sat the edge of the tub, "you're pitiful, you know that?" She wasn't serious, she just wanted to get a reaction other than disgust on the blonde's face. Piper scooted over and laid her head on Alex's thigh. Alex stroked her head really not liking the sight of Piper feeling so ill.

"Alex?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Since we've met, have you been with anyone else? It's ok if you have, I'm just wondering. I…I hadn't thought about it until Polly asked about what we were doing exactly and commented on the amount of time we spend together, the exclusivity of whatever it is we have. I've had no urge to venture out and play the field, but we never got around to ever talking about it."

Alex cupped her hand, and repeatedly dunked it into the water and started wetting Pipers hair. "No, Piper I haven't either. When I went abroad for those few months, I'm pretty sure that's the longest I've gone with no intimate contact whatsoever. But like you said I hadn't ever thought much about that because I thought about you so often," she said while tilting her head up, hiding her slight blush. "Whatever we were doing day to day – I was just enjoying _you," _she admitted to herself and the blonde_._ Guess there's just been an understanding."

Alex reached over for the mug of tea and handed it to Piper, and the blonde received it with both hands, still keeping her chin rested upon Alex's leg. Alex massaged the back of her neck while she took the tea in small sips reproducing the motion until most of it was gone. The inside of her body felt warmer than the bathwater so she let some water out down the drain and turned on the hot water. She leaned her torso over the tub and opened the cabinet under sink seeking the large bottle of mouth wash.

"This night was perfect," she filled her mouth with mouthwash, swished it around and spit into the sink, "I'm sorry I screwed it up." She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and sank back into the tub.

"You did nothing of the sort, you had me cracking up," she said thinking about Piper's karaoke, "and you're not half bad at carrying a tune. I'm sorry you're feeling so bad, but this _will_ be a great story to tell one day."

"Yeah," she chuckled and took another sip, "thanks for the tea," she said raising the mug.

Don't mention it," she said while continuing to caress and rub the blonde's neck, "I kind of like taking care of you, even if you are a little pain in the ass."

"Hmmph," Piper panted and sighed, "I _am_ feeling a little better already."

Alex managed a small smile, "my mom used to make ginger tea for me when I'd sneak too many candies or got a stomach bug. The stuff in there is natural, I got the ingredients last time I was in China. It's more potent but it works fast."

Piper rubbed her face against Alex's thigh and silently breathed in the woman's soothing scent. They said in silence for a while, Alex noticed the blonde was thinking hard.

Piper broke the silence, "I like taking care of you too by the way," she acknowledged. "I can't say I'm not worried that it's too soon to move in here with you though, it scares me, the brevity of our time, there's so much we don't know about each other. What if in a month or so there's something about me that's completely unlivable and you force me out? What if I figure out what I want to do with my life and it involves me moving half way around the world? Are we moving in because it's easier or because we're ready to take it to the next level? We never talked about anything long term until today and now…"

"Piper! You have to stop doing that. You go on this long winded tangent, overanalyzing everything. If you're going to second guess everything in your life then this is never going to work, I will not contribute to you having a coronary before you hit 25. I don't plan out my personal life. Every detail of my work is planned to perfection, and don't get me wrong I love having control over everything that happens in my work life but I go out of my way to make sure that my personal life is guided by fate. Just live."

Piper bit down on her bottom lip, so tempted to bring up another stream of what if's, but she swallowed hard and let it go.

"What do you want to know? You can ask me anything- always. I want you to know the answers to whatever crosses your mind- I don't want you to hold back on taking a leap of faith because you're afraid of the consequence." Alex thought to a time where she was casually dating several people and her mother told her that she would lose more by holding back then she would if she just let go and gave herself to someone. But what did her mother know? She chose to invest herself in one bad relationship after another, and how could she have nothing to lose if she gave everything she had to one person, what if they left? Wouldn't she be left with nothing? She shook the thought from her mind.

Piper thought for a while. There were so many things she wondered about over this past year, but they were always at the wrong moment and she didn't want to pry.

"Where do your parents live? Do you see them often?"

"My mom still lives upstate, I bought her a house last year, told her she could live wherever she wanted in the world and she said she wanted to stay where she was, continuing to work at that same freaking Friendly's that robbed me of so much of her time growing up. Her sister lives out there too, she enjoys her company, the simplicity of the little town. I never really got it, but I guess there's no reason to live somewhere aesthetically pleasing if you don't have anyone to share it with."

Piper looked up at Alex as Alex looked down and met her eyes.

_Reason# 92,000 why you should live together._

"I don't see her very much, but I talk to her a few times a week, mostly catching up, BSing."

"Mmmhmmm. And your dad?"

Alex tensed. Had she never mentioned either of them before? It was rare that she let her guard down and discussed personal matters, but she never felt the need to hold back from Piper. The subject of her parents simply never came up, but now that Piper was inquiring about the supplier of her second x chromosome, she was feeling uneasy, regretting that she made this an open forum.

"I'd really rather not talk about him Piper."

"Hey now that's not fair, you _just_ told me I could ask you anything!"

Alex felt her face turn red, she couldn't control what she felt when it came to talking about the person who used her mother and left them struggling their entire lives. "Have you ever dreamt about something for so long and fantasized about what it would be like, epitomizing so many details, just to have it destroyed?"

Piper waited for her to continue. But Alex never did. She stared at Piper waiting for her answer.

"Oh, you're actually asking me," she stated, not questioning. "Well I guess having sex for the first time. I dated this guy for a year in high school, we fooled around for a while but didn't actually go all the way until we were coming up on the year, and I remember thinking it would be romantic and sensual. It hurt, it was so uncomfortable, he got off in minutes, I just felt raw, sticky and wanted him out of my bedroom as fast as it was over. It wasn't only disappointing but unsettling. Though I'm guessing your experience isn't really comparable."

"My 'dad' left my mom before I was even born. He's this junky ex- rocker; I tracked him down a few years ago, caught his show in the basement of this old club and even then" she paused, "I was so excited just to see him-performing-knowing that I was finally going to have a conversation with him, potentially be able to build this relationship that I had missed out on for all of these years. I went backstage, and the first thing he does is hit on me. He was so out of his mind, and I just felt violated. Everything I had imagined went up in flames, burnt to pieces, ashes spinning erratically. I felt my stomach churn and my eyes started to water, I hid in the bathroom and tried to control myself, but I just wanted to run home, collapse into my mother's arms and bawl. I felt rejected, abandoned all over again," she sighed, "so unloved. I was about to leave when this man who had been hanging back in the corner of their dressing room approached me and he's the one who introduced me to the cartel."

Piper's heart ached, immediately regretting causing the pain she saw in Alex's eyes. She wanted to crash onto Alex's back wrapping her arms and legs around her strongly, inhale her comforting scent, and tell her that she loved her. She head over heels, deep in the bottom of her soul, fireworks shooting out of her eyes loved her. She was overcome with sensuality for this woman, craved her. But instead of breaking out into the chorus of Celine Dion's Declaration of Love, she kissed her knee gently, squeezed her thigh softly and changed the subject.

"Do you ever think about what else you would've done if you weren't involved in," she pauses and continues in a British accent, "importing?"

Alex purses her lips, and shakes her head. "Didn't have the dough to pay for college, though if I had applied for some scholarships I probably could've made it work. I was looking for an easy way up in the world you know? It's kind of discouraging watching your mom work her ass off at four different jobs and still getting us nowhere."

"But it did, didn't it?" Piper replied innocently. "She provided for you, made sure you were safe and happy, she made sure you finished high school."

"I was never happy Piper. I hated school and those stuck up bitches so much. We barely made ends meet. I spent so much time alone at home, just breathing in my dark bedroom, feeling guilty about putting the lights or the t.v. on, contributing to the Con Edison bill. I just didn't want to take a job where the work I was putting in, wasn't turning out a profit two fold. You get me?"

Piper slowly nodded. Piper was appreciative of all that Alex was willing to share with her, but didn't ever want to cause her pain bringing up her past again. She'd listen graciously, linger on every word the brunette revealed but only if she initiated the conversation of her past. Still intrigued though, she continued with the third degree.

"Do you think you'll do this forever?" Alex silently stared into the space next to Pipers face. She'd never felt compelled to continue to date one person, never let her guard down the way she felt she could with Piper. It's not only that she was willing to talk to this woman, but that the blonde _wanted_, _needed, hungered_ to know more about her in the same way that she felt the need to divulge, exposing herself to her.

She had been so good at moving her way up in the ring that she hadn't given much thought to an ordinary profession. Of course there was always the possibility that she let the rope go and it would all come crumbling down, but the power lied within her hands, only she was in control of her life and she wouldn't let that happen.

"I'm not _really_ sure," she'd accepted this realization having never been asked before. "I've always liked discussing art, maybe a critic or even a curator? I used to be decent at science like physics and math, I appreciate detailed architecture, I could've looked into being an architect? I like taking things apart and reconstructing, working with my hands." She shrugged her shoulders, unimpressed with her discoveries.

"Yeah you _are_ good with your hands," Piper desperately wanted to see her smile, "and you'd look hot in a hard hat," but Alex could only force a smirk. She loved the lifestyle organizing the importation of heroin provided her; she loved calling the shots, having people view her as a knower of all things worthy. Besides, she was fucking great at it.

"Look," Piper felt Alex's thigh tense underneath her chin so she lifted her head, "I really love what I do, and I'm good at it. The high from the adrenaline pumping through your body when you see a plan that you authorized play out," she balled her hands into fists and exhaled satisfied and her eyes got lost in her own memory.

Piper admired her enthusiasm even if it was for something that made her skin crawl and made her worry for Alex. After a few minutes, she grounded herself and asked "One day you might have to give up the control, and then what?"

Alex leaned her forehead against Pipers, looked deep into her eyes and said, "I won't," with a smirk, "are you done with your fucking interrogation?" and without giving Piper a chance to reply she walked out of the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 5

5

Piper stared at the air where Alex just stood with loving eyes. She'd allowed all of these months to pass by never inquiring about her past, restricting her knowledge of her current mates life but now given the opportunity, she didn't want to ever stop knowing everything about Alex Vause. She stood up and waited for the suds to slide off her body before reaching for a towel to pat herself dry. Alcohol still in her system, but the nausea subsided, she thought it was safe enough to brush her teeth without re-awakening her ever incompetent gag reflex. Piper walked out the bathroom and down the hall, leaving a trail of foggy footprints on the wooden floor. She found Alex mid-sip of water. She padded over and pressed her towel wrapped body against the brunette.

"See, I feel so close to you now," she said with an exaggerated smile. Alex set down her glass of water, and boosted her onto the kitchen island. She dipped her head near Pipers breast and with a tiny ice cube on her tongue, licked her nipple. Piper screeched, her nipple now hard and swatted Alex on the ass. Alex tried to dart the movement, but felt the light spank just before she continued a quick pace, almost running, back towards the bedroom. Piper tackled her to the bed, straddling Alex's hips. She planted a kiss on Alex's lips as Alex wrapped her arms around the blonde, flipped her onto her back, positioning herself half on top of Piper.

Piper reached around Alex's neck and started to unzip her dress. In slow motion, Alex lifted her dress up over her head and tossed it to the side of the bed.

"Alex, is there anything that you've ever fantasized about that you haven't done?," she asked still slightly drunk. She snaked her leg in between Alex's adjusting herself now slightly on top of the brunette, who smirked amusingly at the blonde's confidence. She kissed her slowly, passionately.

"Sure, I kind of get a kick out of doing things in public places, there's plenty-kiss- that I haven't -kiss- gotten around to yet…you?"

"Well until you I didn't know I had a black lingerie fetish-kiss-or an appreciation for a good 69. Letting me have my way with you?" She removed the brunettes bra. "You arouse me-kiss-in ways I wasn't aware-kiss-were possible."

Piper had moved herself back on top of Alex, while she revealed her array of fantasies, and she placed her knees on the outside of Alex's hips. Alex noticed her slowly moving back on top of her but she figured she'd let her for a minute or two, she enjoyed this view. Alex palmed her breasts, gently squeezing and massaging them upward. Piper leaned forward while gently removing Alex's hands and whispered, "no touching." Alex lowered her hands to her sides obediently, while Piper sucked on the space below her ear, making her buck forward seeking contact. Piper moved a knee against Alex's center teasingly, and Alex started gently rocking herself against the blonde's skin. Not nearly close enough, she grabbed Piper's hips and pulled her body closer, firm against her own. Piper grabbed Alex's wrists more forcefully now and pinned them over her head, putting her full weight behind the motion. Her eyes went wide, she sucked in her lower lip and stared Alex down, while they both breathed heavily. She grabbed a headband from the night stand drawer and looped it behind the bedpost. Alex's heart was racing, but she was amused and let the blonde continue. She slipped Alex's right wrist into a loop and twisted it a few times to tighten the slack before squeezing her left wrist onto the other side. Piper gave her a wink and kept her eye contact trying to sense Alex's approval. She knew the brunette wasn't used to being submissive but felt they reached a new level of trust that evening.

Piper plucked the taut elastic around Alex's wrists and slowly whispered, "because, you can't control yourself." Alex stifled a laugh and moaned, settling her hips into the bed, completely turned on. Piper kneeled between her legs, stroking the skin near her ankles and followed it with her mouth, biting along the skin just hard enough to leave an imprint and then kissing it softly. She pulled Alex's black lacy boyshorts to the side, dragged her fingernails along her thigh and exhaled her hot breath inches from her center. Pipers hand hovered over the small line of dark hair, barely touching the glistening wetness just visible by the moonlight from the window. Her hands moved across her lower abdomen and swept up her skin to her breasts. She followed the trail with her mouth and worried a nipple between her teeth, sucked it hard, while kneading the other. She kissed her slowly, then sucked on her tongue roughly, pulling the brunette's tongue into her mouth. She ran her hands through the silky raven hair pulling it slightly. She moved her hands between them and cupped the other womans' sex firmly and said "say you're mine." She pulled her panties up causing the material to tense between her folds. Alex felt her juices soaking through her underwear and breathed "I want you...inside."

Piper tugged more firmly against the fabric, "say it."

Alex panted hard, and wiggled her hips trying to cause friction against the fabric.

Piper moved her panties down slightly noting the brunette's movement, and caressed the sensitive skin that she just caused. She heard an unbearable moan escape Alex's lips.

"Fucking say it," she demanded, the brunette's sounded tempting her to just succumb, but she resisted.

"Shit Piper, I'm yours," she moaned. "Inside," she panted, "_now_...please."

"Don't you dare beg me, shut up."

This was maddening. She had only just started. Piper stroked Alex's pussy once, causing Alex to roll her hips forward again seeking Pipers hand. Piper was so used to Alex being in charge and was aware of how much Alex was relenting by letting her do this to her. She wanted to make it worth her while. She brought her finger to Alex's opening, circling it a few times and dipping it in just slightly, then quickly removing it. Alex made the move to keep Pipers hand there with her own hand, when she pulled against the material that bound her wrists. "Oh fuck Piper." Her pussy was aching to be entered. Piper gently lifted her breast and let it go making it bounce. She laid atop Alex, her mouth close to her ear and whispered, "tell me how much you need me."

"Fucking Christ Piper, I need you inside me, I'm throbbing," the brunette breathlessly panted rubbing her thighs together.

Piper hooked her toe on Alex's panties and pushed them down her leg. She kissed a trail down to her sex before wrapping her arms around her thighs and burying her face into Alex's soaking wet cunt. She licked ferociously until Alex's pants and moans told her she was at the edge and she pulled away. Alex's eyes were shut tight while she was biting on her lower lip. Piper looked at the palm of her own hand, and bent back all but two fingers and looked at them curiously. Alex managed to open her eyes and yell, "Oh my God", between her quivering lips, as she begged Piper to fuck her.

Piper expertly thrust her fingers into Alex's center pushing in deeply over and over until Alex wrapped her legs around the small of her back and screamed out one of the beautifully sexy sounds Piper had ever heard. She lay atop Alex's sweaty torso, completely satisfied with her work and helped free Alex's wrists. Alex wrapped her arms around her, her hands wandering all over Pipers back and through her hair. "Where the hell did that come from?"

Piper squinted her eyes, looked over naughtily and said "see what can happen if you lose control?" She pushed off the bed, went to the bathroom and closed the door. Alex lay there still waiting for her heart to stop pounding against her sternum, and tried to think if she had ever felt such release-desire-terror-longing all simultaneously tumbling cyclonic. She was assuredly, absolutely, beyond a doubt in love with Piper Chapman.


	6. Chapter 6

Guys, thank you so much for all of the reviews and comments! This is my first attempt at fanfic and it's so cool to get quick feedback (and positive). I was off for a few days when I wrote the others so bear with me for a bit while I get through a few shifts so I can crank out some more. If you have any ideas, feel free to PM me and I'll try to incorporate them in. I edited this chapter again, I had made a lot of typos and it was bothering me.

* * *

6

Piper gently shut the bathroom door, stared into the mirror and mouthed to her own reflection "who are you?" She brought both of her hands to her face and squeezed. She couldn't believe she just put herself out there, taken this risk. Before Alex, sex had always been ordinary, but even with Alex it was she who made it extraordinary, Piper always felt like she just followed her lead. That night, she took a leap, she wanted to show Alex what she was capable of and she was shocked that Alex actually let her. Alex told her she didn't like to control her personal life but Piper believed she meant that she thrived off of life's spontaneity not that she didn't like to be in charge of her day to day experiences. Piper had totally dangled her dominance in Alex's face with her "losing control" comment, genuinely afraid of what would happen if Alex ever lost control in the illegal line of work she was involved in. She gripped the side of the sink, turned on the cold water and splashed her face twice. She patted her face dry and stepped back into the bedroom. Alex lay in the bed, half awake, smiling, and she crawled into the space opened by the sheet the brunette pulled back. She conformed her body to the brunettes and traced lines along her long arms. After about an hour, Alex woke up to the feeling of Piper's soft caress.

Pipers arm had pins and needles throughout from the amount of time she spent in the repetitive motion. She had gotten lost studying the space between the brunette's scapulae, the skin was soft, slight muscles visible between the blades, the smallest lone freckle beside her salt shaker tattoo, "for luck" she'd told her once before.

"Why are you still awake kid? y'alright?," she asked groggily.

Piper couldn't sleep, she didn't want to. How could she trust her eyelids to close out her world when it was so wonderful and know that she wouldn't miss something phenomenal?

"Fine, fine, just lying here." Alex turned over and pulled her closer, her forehead so close to her own, her eyes crossed at the proximity. Piper inhaled her scent, the leftover white musk, lingering smell of sex, and fell asleep in her arms.

She woke up the next morning with a sense of calm. She scooted her bottom back seeking Alex's warmth but was met with cool air. She turned over and found a note on the pillow.

_Went for bagels, back in 10._

_-Alex_

Piper lightly stroked the pillow that still dipped where Alex had recently lain and moved her face against it. She fell back asleep, woken by the crinkling of a paper bag. Alex stood in the doorway a bagel swinging around her pointer finger. "I was only gone a minute kid, quit spooning my pillow."

Piper smiled back "mmmbagels"

"You prefer this hole or mine?" Alex asked looking at her hand.

"Definitely yours."

Piper met Alex in the kitchen, crouched down under the counter and placed the toaster on the counter. She placed her bagel in, and it wasn't until the toaster started smoking and Alex very casually asked her if she should call the fire department, did she realize it never popped the bagel back up. She started frantically waving the dish towel around the toaster but her hand was a tad too spastic knocking the toaster off of the counter onto the floor, cracking the side off the base's spring, burnt bagel still inside.

Piper used a knife to pry her crispy bagel out of the toaster. She scrapped off the burnt and buttered it as if this was a normal occurrence. She left her bagel on the counter, went into the hall closet and pulled out the glue gun in her craft box.

"What are you doing?" Alex looked on amusingly.

"I'm gonna fix this freaking toaster." She waited for the glue to warm and then attached the side of the toaster to its base, grabbed the rest of her burnt bagel and plopped onto the couch, causing a few sesame seeds to fall onto the leather beside her. Alex looked at her over the top of her glasses and Piper pressed the seeds down making them stick to her finger tips and sprinkled them onto the table laughing, "tada."

"Don't eat that." Alex grabbed the burnt bagel from Piper's hand and gave her one of her halves minus the piece she had previously bitten off.

They talked over breakfast and Alex let her know that she had to go out of town for a week, "business." Piper initially felt disappointed but decided she'd use the time going back and forth getting the rest of her things in order to keep busy. Alex said she didn't mind if Polly stayed over, "it's your place too now, you've never had to ask for permission for anything, please don't start now." Piper was a little subdued until she heard a clank of metal on the counter, her masterpiece had already failed. They both chuckled, Piper started to clean up the trail of burnt crusts and seeds she'd created while Alex was in and out of all the rooms on calls that Piper was more than happy to steer clear of.

The following week came and the apartment felt eerily desolate without Alex's constant satirical quips. She left her car keys so that Piper could make the transition of moving her stuff more easily, but Piper feared she'd damage the other womans' car and opted for a multitude of subway rides with Polly and one cab ride for a few larger items. She left her dresser behind, not needing it, Alex had ample closet space. They exchanged text messages throughout the day, preferring typed conversation to the static reception that accompanied a phone call.

Polly grabbed a knife from the kitchen to slice through the thick tape holding the cardboard flaps of the boxes Pipers life was packed into. Polly gazed over the wall of bookshelves Alex had in her living room, "so do you guys like nerd out over Faulkner, Nietzsche and Hemingway?"

Piper hip-checked Polly "sometimes."

"Do you think she's actually read everything on here?" Polly asked pointing to the shelf with her thumb.

"I don't know about all of them but most of them, she has a lot of airtime to catch up on reading."

"Still don't want to tell me what she does?" Piper looks away, and continues to unpack some of her own books, mainly plays, and American literature. "Fine don't tell me, I know it isn't kosher, like some sketchy trading on Wall Street or something." Piper shrugs her shoulders. She didn't like keeping things from Polly, but she could be judgmental and pretentious and didn't want to add to the agida, that she managed to cork in the wine bottle of her esophagus.

They spent the rest of the day unpacking, and watching trashy television. Polly was about to leave when Piper asked if she would stay one more night. She'd spent a few nights alone here and there when Alex traveled, but she was feeling more alone than normal. Despite most of her belongings being dispersed among Alex's, the space still didn't completely feel like home. Perhaps it was Alex's absence that made it feel cold; it always felt cozy despite its expanse when Alex was floating about. Polly stayed the night and Piper spent another day settling her things about the apartment. She really hadn't accumulated much over the years. The night returned and her insides were overcome with the unpleasant emotion of isolation. She missed Alex. She laid on the couch, cozied up with a blanket and fell asleep with a book on her chest.

She awoke to Alex's fingers stroking her hair and lightly dancing along her face. She opened her eyes, the room was barely lit by the reading lamp she had been using earlier in the night. It was the middle of the night.

"You're here?" she touched Alex's face.

Alex was used to coming home to a dark empty apartment. Her body warmed at the site of Piper barely awake, in _their_ apartment, waiting. "I took an earlier flight in. Why are you sleeping out here on the couch?"

Piper scooted her back into the couch, lifting the blanket so Alex could climb in.  
"Just let me go change my clothes Pipes and we can go to bed."

"No, please just come be with me. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too kid." Alex slid off her boots and climbed under the blanket next to Piper, the chill of her skin making Piper jump. Piper wrapped her arm around the taller woman and pulled her in close. Though she had barely left the apartment all week, she just in that moment felt that she was home.

* * *

"Ok ma… I'm not sure yet…of course…yeah just come here…..nope, nowhere that week…. alright, YES mom I am!...ok, see you then, love you."

Piper heard Alex's end of her conversation with her mother through the wall of the bedroom. Alex always called her mom when she returned from traveling. She didn't know if her mother knew what she did, and she didn't want to ask causing Alex to have that sadness in her eyes again.

Piper smiled and wrapped her arms around Alex's shoulders, and kissed her long and hard. She stroked the skin around her necklace. "How's your mom doing?"

"She's fine, just asking about the holidays. Are you going to your parents' for Christmas?"

"Yeah, we always have something at their house. Nothing religious, it's just a fancier family dinner. Your mom is coming here?"

"Mmmhmm, I'm not really into it, but I'll have anything here if it means she'll take a few days off and I get to see her. My aunt, uncle and cousins will come for Christmas day to eat and fuck around but then she usually just hangs out with me for an extra day so we can catch up. It makes more sense for me to go up there but they like the city during this time of year.

December 24th arrived, Piper packed a small duffel bag to get her through three and a half days of family togetherness. Alex watched her pack her final "last minute" items and Piper bent down underneath her side of the bed. She pulled out an eccentrically wrapped present and handed it over to Alex, "Merry Christmas, don't open it until tomorrow ok?"

Alex had almost forgotten the present she had gotten for Piper. She walked into her closet, turned the light on, reached under a pile of sweaters and pulled out a small box with a little red bow on the top. "I don't know how to fancy pants wrap things, sorry," she looked down and held the box out towards Piper in the palm of her hand. Piper hugged her tightly, and walked down the hall and out the door. It would only be a few days Alex thought to herself and she still had some last minute things to clean and get at the store before her family arrived that night.

Her family parked their large car on the street downstairs and made their way up. Her place was filled with commentary like "you look great, what new adventures have you gone on now? anyone new in your life?" She didn't want to get into details, so she answered just enough to keep their questions at bay. They exchanged presents at midnight and settled in for the night. Her cousins slept on the couches, her aunt and uncle took the spare bedroom and her mom shared her bed.

She lay bedside her mom in bed. "So did Piper make it to her parents' house ok?"

"Yeah she called me earlier, her family is pretty big, it was kind of loud, we didn't talk for long. She said she'd try to call in the morning before everyone woke up."

"Good. Merry Christmas baby."

Alex woke up to her Fine Young Cannibals ringtone 'She Drives Me Crazy' and she answered her phone "6 AM, Christ Piper, every day without fail."

Piper chuckled, "sorry, I was up. Did you sleep ok?"

"Shut up, I feel like I just went to sleep."

"Did you open your present?"

"No, I was waiting for this morning of which I've only been conscious for about 20 seconds."

"I already opened yours, it's nice, I'm wearing it, but what's with all of the numbers?"

Alex had been walking down a street when she saw a stand where a woman sold necklaces that you could place coordinates on. Alex sat with the woman and looked up "the coordinates of the bar we met at almost a year ago. I know it's a little cheesy but…."

"Oh my God, I love it. It's perfect," her voice raised with excitement.

Alex's heart warmed imagining Pipers smile.

The brunette got up and walked with her present over to her window. She tore the paper away and unwrapped the bubble wrap around her gift. It was a hand-painted vase, Piper's initials were painted at the very bottom with the tiniest little heart. Inside the vase was a cream colored knitted hat. "Did you make this?"

"Yeah I went to this place where you could paint your own stuff, and you needed the vase so there you go. And I didn't really know how to knit, I just followed the pattern on the net so the hat isn't perfect but you needed a hat too and I thought the color would look nice against your hair."

"You made the hat too?" Alex stroked the soft fabric of the hat. "Piper they both look great, aren't you just so dedicated?" She took a long pause. "I love them, thank you." She put the hat on her head and adjusted it in the reflection in the window."Call me later ok? Even if it's just for a minute. I want to hear about your day o's survival."

Piper said she would and they hung up.

Alex turned around and climbed back into bed.

"Nice hat, she knits?"

Startled by her mothers' voice, she didn't know she was awake, she pulled the hat off her head and sank lower under the covers. "She said she learned how to, in order to make me the hat," she said embarrassingly, knowing how much devotion this girl was oozing in order to make her something when she could've just purchased it.

"Sounds like you girls are gettin close. You really do look great by the way, you look all happy."

Alex just shrugged, but she held the hat in her hand underneath the covers and fondled it.

"You've been walkin around hea like you've got a hanga stuck in ya mouth. Do you love her?"

Alex widened her eyes, "Mom, please."

"Well ya livin' togetha aren't you?"

Alex squinted her eyebrows at her mother, but couldn't help but smile a little. She thought she'd put away all the things that gave away that Piper was living there to avoid further scrutiny from her nosy family. Her mother still knew. She dropped the questions though and they made small talk. They got up for the day, finished cooking and had Christmas dinner together. Alex excused herself from the conversation to pick up her ringing cell.

"God I miss you Alex, they're driving me crazy! So many damn questions, asking me where I'm going to live now that Pete and Polly are engaged, what am I doing with my life, I don't have a career, the whole nine yards. Can't I just fucking live my life?"

Alex snickered, "Oh man kid, just 1 more day and you're out of there. Uh, my mom somehow knows you live here with me."

"Shit, how? What did she say? She probably thinks I'm a mooch."

"No idea kid, she just does. I swear I put away your stuff cause I was trying to avoid the same line of questioning from my family. I mean I don't mind if she knows, she's great. I'm surprised she hasn't asked me a thousand and one questions, probably just waiting til the piranhas leave tomorrow morning."

"Alright, my brother is calling me back, I gotta go. Tell your mom I say hi."

Alex walked back into the living area, her mom caught her eye when she walked back in and winked. Alex just rolled her eyes, fighting her smile.

It was well into the night everyone one by one started dozing off and eventually went off to bed. Alex woke up around 10 a.m. to the smell of what seemed like an elaborate breakfast. She walked into the kitchen and low and behold, coffee, fresh fruit, bacon, eggs, pancakes, enough to feed a family of ten, were lined up all along her island.

"Ma, when you're here can you please just relax and enjoy yourself? Don't cook gigantic ass breakfasts, pick up or re-organize my already very organized bookshelf or do my laundry."

The rest of her family was still asleep. Her mom pointed to the coffee pot and said "this needs Bailey's" and without skipping a beat, wiped her hands on a dishtowel and walked back toward Alex's bedroom saying how "it's just breakfast, and I'm not futzing with anything in your apartment." Alex followed behind her laughing.

Alex sat at the edge of her bed, while her mom stuck her head in her closet. "Mom, how did you know Piper moved in? I mean she only just really moved in 2 weeks ago, I was going to tell you but it was so recent and everything kind of happened so fast."

"Oh, you know, little things, like I sure as shit know this pink thong isn't yours" she lifted the freshly washed undergarment in the air. Alex's mouth dropped. "Ok, I did your wash, I couldn't help it, let me be ya motha, ok?" Alex laughed and snatched Pipers underwear from her mothers' hand.

"And fast? You've been seeing each other for a year already haven't you? I was already pregnant by the time I knew your father for a year."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "Are you trying to tell me something? Should I have a kid with her by now? Because that's not exactly happening. Do you want me to jump all over someone as soon as I meet them?"

Her mother shook her head, "no baby, I'm just sayin if you have a connection with this girl, then don't worry about time, just do what feels right, when it feels right."

Alex wrinkled her mouth and nodded. After enough silence, and shr had folded all of her daughter's clothes, she interrupted the quiet,

"So, do I get to meet her?"

Alex turned her head slightly to the side, skeptical, "uh, like when?"

"Uh, like now?" she said mocking her daughter, "isn't she coming back tomorrow?"

"Oiy, yes, but it might be kind of soon, I mean meeting the parents is sort of a big step isn't it? I'm definitely not ready to meet her family."

"I think I should get to meet the girl who makes my kid smile all goofily like that," she points to her daughter and taps her head, "and sticks a home-made hat on her head while she's still in her pajamas."

Alex scooches over and lays her head in her mothers' lap, her mom swirls her hair around. "Mom she makes me crazy. She's well read and challenges the life that's expected of her, she appreciates the quality things in life but she's not a snob. But then she's also really messy and scatterbrained, and sweet all the while. I don't know what it is exactly but when we're apart, I feel like I can breathe as deep as my body allows but I can never get enough air."

"You're in love baby," she kissed the top of her daughters head, "and it's about fuckin time. C'mon lets go wake up these lazybones so we can kick 'em out and get on with our day."

Alex spent the next two days running around the city with her mother, with her cream colored hat atop her head. They walked arm in arm along the icy sidewalks en route to Central Park. Alex took her for dinner and drinks at Tavern on the Green. The following day they grabbed warm pretzels, and took a long walk down Fifth Avenue admiring the flamboyant holiday window displays of Sak's, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf's, and other high end stores. They snacked on candy covered peanuts and watched the ice skaters underneath the enormous tree in Rockefellar center.

Alex's alarm on her phone went off, reminding her that Pipers train would be pulling into Grand Central in about an hour. They had exchanged small texts here and there over the past few days and Piper seemed more than ready to come back. She let Alex know when her train would be coming primarily for safety reasons, Alex never letting on that she had every intent of meeting her in the terminal. She and her mother started heading back toward the terminal, a stomach full of butterflies taking the walk as well. Alex looked up the track schedule to see which track the train from New Haven would be pulling into.

Track 35.

They still had about 10 minutes. Alex adjusted her glasses and then shoved her hands in her pockets, she overly straightened her back, and rocked back and forth on her heels. Her mother was distracted by the sheer volume of people scurrying around to catch their trains. She stood back against the marble wall, when she noticed Alex's nervous habits. She just kept to herself and let her daughter be. Alex walked up a little closer to the tunnel when the board switched to "Arrived" and waited for Piper to ascend the ramp. She saw the perfect blonde head bobbing up and down among the other passengers, their eyes met and Piper slowed her pace shocked. She pulled Alex into a tight hug. She pulled back a little and placed her hands on both sides of Alex's face and kissed her slowly. She felt the burn behind her eyes, she was so happy to be in the brunette's arms. She opened her eyes and said "I love you."

Alex stopped breathing and her face turned serious; her stomach felt like there was a 10lb ball of lead, but then she blinked a few times, exhaled, relaxed and she smiled and said "I love you too."

"You're wearing the hat," she rubbed her hand over Alex's head.

The brunette simply nodded. Alex pulled her back into a hug and said "so… my mom is standing behind me" and snickered.

Pipers face mimicked the face Alex made 20 seconds prior, her body now hardened by a layer of self- conciousness at her sudden public display of affection. She couldnt be serious though. She shook it off and asked for clarification, "what did you say?"

She pivoted to her side, holding Piper around her waist and pointed toward her mother, "right there, that's my mom," she said through nervous laughter. Her mother gave a small wave. Piper recognized her immediately from Alex's photos and knew Alex wasn't fucking with her. Alex turned back toward Piper.

"Alex! I look and probably smell like crap."

Alex leaned toward her, sniffed her hair and said, "nope not like crap," and Piper shoved her lightly.

Alex placed her teeth togetheR and spoke through a gritted smile, "she really wanted to meet you Pipes. She's cool, we're just going out to dinner, alright? Do not let her convince you to let her cook anything.

Piper nodded and exhaled. Alex took Piper's duffel and flung the strap over her chest. Piper walked the few feet over to Alex's mom and said "Hi Ms. Vause, it's nice to meet you."

Alex's mom scooped Piper in a huge hug looked at Alex and said "Oh gawd, she's adorable, call me Diane."


	7. Chapter 7

7

Dinner with Diane Vause felt more natural then Piper expected and she felt ridiculous for allowing herself to be so nervous around her. If the woman judged her for just graduating from an institution that cost her over $150,000 and was now waiting tables, she hid it well. While there was some physical resemblance between the two, Piper couldn't help but notice all of the similar facial expressions and satirical banter Alex and her mother shared. The three of them took a cab back to their apartment and it took 20 minutes of arguing and insistence that her mother sleep in their bedroom and she and Piper would take the guest.

"Our bed is more comfortable, it's softer, more broken in. The guest is hardly used, please!"

"I'm the guest! That's who it's supposed to be for. The girl hasn't slept in her own bed in 3 days, for God's sakes!" Her mother finally raised both her hands in the air and retreated to Alex and Piper's bedroom.

"You think I'm persistent? That woman has the head of a bull, fought her whole life for everything. She's only backing down so she doesn't make more of a scene in front of you, I'm sure of it." Piper and Alex stripped the linens off of the bed in the guest room and draped fresh new sheets tucking the corners under the mattress. The three padded out into the living room, chatted for a while when Alex went to the kitchen to make them hot chocolate.

Diane leaned into Piper and whispered, "thank you for makin my daughter so happy. She walks around like she's this tough badass but she's really just a tall sweetheart. I haven't seen this light in her," she paused, "well, ever."

Piper crossed her arms over her chest, and brought one hand up to her mouth amused that she'd apparently been the only person to have had this affect on Alex.

Alex walked in carefully managing all three mugs and sensed that she just walked into some potentially uncomfortable conversation. "What did you say to her?" she asked worriedly seeing Pipers hand over her mouth, masking the grin she couldn't see. "I walked away for 2 minutes," she placed the mugs down on the coffee table.

Diane turned her neck toward her daughter, "why don't you mind your business, where's the marshmallows?"

Pipers grin now spread passed her mouth and she let out a laugh. Alex let her abdominal muscles relax and she got up to search for some marshmallows. She came back and handed her mother the bag with two outstretched arms, half bowing, "your majesty." Her mother took the bag and whacked Alex over the head with the bag, "punk." The three finished vegging out and went off to their respective bedrooms.

"What did my mom say to you?" she leaned into Piper resting her weight on both of her hands. "Why don't you mind your business?" she shoved Alex and hit the light.

Morning came and after Diane's insistence, they brought her to the train station instead of taking the long car ride back upstate. Piper and Alex got back home and exchanged the finer details of their time apart. They talked about New Year's Eve, toyed with the idea of going out to celebrate at various parties but opted to stay in and bring in the New Year in the comfort of their living room. They went through ¾ of a bottle of champagne that Piper had purchased earlier that day. Slightly tipsy, she poured them each another glass, and remembered something else she bought. She rummaged through the plastic bag and pulled out some cardboard hats, and glasses that said 2004 on them. She placed a hat on her head, and a hat on Alex's head and fixed the elastic band under her chin. She hooked Alex's glasses into her cleavage and placed the New Year's glasses on the bridge of her nose.

"Are you fucking serious?" the brunette asked not amused.

Piper laughed and took a picture.

"I look like Elton John and I can't see," she removed the glasses from her face, slipped her own back on. She tilted the hat slightly to the side of her head cockily and walked into the kitchen. Alex dug out a bunch of grapes from the crisper and handed 12 over to Piper.

"What are these for?" she asked.

"Your night's rations," came a snarky reply. Piper made a foolish face.

"I spent the last Ano Nuevo in Spain, and they have a tradition where you eat a grape with each chime of a bell at midnight. Some say it's supposed to lead to a year of prosperity, others say it wards of evil. I was told to make 12 wishes."

"Did your wishes from last year come true?" Piper asked.

"Fuck if I remember, I was pretty messed up mixing some party favors with cava and sangria. Oh, I definitely have a bottle of cava here somewhere." Alex danced over to the many bottles of liquor displayed behind in the glass door in the nook between her kitchen and the sunken living room.

"Party favors?"

"Yeah some X at one point in the night, poppers later, shit stinks but I blacked out at the end, good stories," she sips her champagne while continuing to pull bottles, reading the labels and putting them back until she finds it, "ah ha, cava. I got this one in Barcelona, ever been?"

"No," Piper softly replied. She told Alex she'd gone on a Mediterranean cruise with her parents and Cal as a teenager to celebrate her high school graduation but Spain was not part of their itinerary. Piper was grateful that the glasses hid her eyes as her view hardened, she felt uneasy at Alex's casual admission of drug use. Alex picked up on her tension and squeezed her knee making her leg jerk, "hey, I've never done the hard stuff, watched that junk screw up too many people and I only use the others when I'm chilling with people that I trust, no worries." She caressed Pipers head.

"You've never used anything with me." Piper had smoked weed socially at parties or after long nights out with friends but never had an interest in anything else. Until now. Her eyes stayed narrowed. She questioned the enigmatic nature that radiated off of Alex's body. How could one person make her feel so safe at the same cause the disconcerting worry that she felt in the pit of her stomach?

"You've never asked. Later, if you want sometime."

"I've smoked pot before you know?" She suddenly felt it was of paramount importance to disclose that she wasn't a prude and she had some experience in the dark underworld of altered consciousness that Alex seemed to be all too comfortable with.

Alex tried to repress her chortle, the blonde was so fucking cute. She pulled her onto her lap and massaged her shoulders. "What are you going to wish for?" She kissed her neck.

Piper shifted her weight on Alex's lap and nudged her, "if I tell you it won't come true."

"Or if you tell me, maybe I'll make it come true."

"Well I guess you'll just have to see." She skimmed Alex's skin under her dress.

"I'm _not_ a patient person." She gently pawed at the elastic under Piper's chin.

"Poor you."

"Yeah, poor fucking me."

They got each other off in a tension filled quickie, Piper's back was against the seat of the couch, her head half hanging off the side. Her arms were stretched over her head, her legs still wrapped around Alex's torso. She eyed the upside down bottle of cava and pulled herself upright.  
"Are we going to open that?" Alex reclined back and told her to "go ahead." Piper played with the wire caging around the top and struggled to open the bottle.

"It's broken," she looked at her hands , and slurred, "I'm broken."

"You're both beautifully perfect, hand it to me." Alex gently twisted at the cork for a while before popping it open. She inhaled the aroma released within, Piper copied and they drank straight from the bottle. Dick Clark began the count down, they each held a fistful of grapes, Piper sat on Alex's lap, "3…2…1, Happy New Year!," they shouted. They kissed just after the ball completed its' descent, and ate their grapes wishing on each one. Piper grabbed a pot and zig zagged up and down the corridor outside their apartment door hitting it with a wooden spoon. Alex stood in the hall cackling and yelling "woooo" and pumped her fist in the air as if she was quickly hitting a boxing ball. They scampered back into their apartment after 20 minutes of parading when they heard a neighbor yell a few profanities from down the hall. Alex pulled Piper against her chest and kissed her long and hard and the last thing Piper remembered was the explosion of fireworks that flickered in her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

Special thanks to 8isgreat08 for the heartfelt review, thanks to everyone for the taking the time to leave your thoughts! Chapter 9 is done, working on 10 now- needing to research a bit so it's taking some more time. Thank you in advance for sticking with the story. I work a lot this week so again bear with me please.

* * *

8

Two months had passed since they brought in the new year, Alex was gone again, somewhere in Europe, she had been gone the whole week. She'd left on a Friday, promising to be back on Thursday. They were both perfectly capable of handling time apart but strongly preferred the others company. Piper would tell herself each time it would get easier the more Alex traveled but she was lying to herself, a piece of her heart, a piece of _her_ constantly on the other side of the earth's rotation.

Piper woke up, her face stuck to the leather on the couch, the sun shone through the window, blinding her when she cracked an eye open. It took her a second to realize where she was. It was Thursday, Alex was due back late that night, the night that marked one year to the day that their paths crossed at the bar. She fell asleep to the thought that Alex would come home early again like she did the last time she went abroad but after she did a quick tour of the apartment she realized she was still alone. Alex was due back well after her shift would be over, and they planned to spend the following day celebrating their milestone. She washed up and headed out to work feeling somber but excited as she anticipated Alex's arrival. She planned on stopping at the market on the way home from work to get the ingredients she'd need to cook them a late night romantic dinner for two.

Piper was on her way out of work when one of the other waitresses handed her a silver box with a red bow, the same kind of red bow that was on her Christmas present. "What's this for?," she asked with a confused one.

"Someone left it for you earlier". Piper thanked her and stepped outside the restaurant. She opened the box, and found a note and a plastic card. Initially she thought it was a gift card, and she couldn't make out the note so she stood under a streetlamp.

Hey gorgeous,

_The _Deluxe Suite, St. Regis Hotel. Can't wait to see you. Happy Anniversary!

-Alex

She traced her finger over Alex's name and clutched the note to her chest. Her Alex was here. She looked at her phone, no calls, no texts, no heads up that she was coming in early. How long had she been back? Piper headed uptown towards the hotel, and it wasn't until she walked about a mile and half did she realize she could've made it in half the time if she had had the sense to get in a cab or take the subway. She was walking quickly but in a daze, her mind raced at the thought of seeing Alex, her plans of cooking them dinner flew right out the theoretical window. She walked into the extravagantly adorned lobby of the St. Regis immediately feeling out of place, still dressed from work. She headed towards the elevators, when she was stopped by the concierge who inquired if she needed any help. She showed the man her room key, he called the elevator and he pressed the button for her room. Piper stood outside the door for a few moments, Alex was once again in the process of sweeping her off her feet in this luxurious hotel for their day. She hadn't expected to see her just yet but now that she was, she stood outside feeling overwhelmed but ecstatic. She knelt on the floor, and rummaged through her purse. She looked around and thanked the all of the omnipotent beings that no one else was in the hall. She pulled out her compact, looked in her mirror and scrunched up her face. Between working an eight hour shift, and the wintery wind that blew through her hair she looked slightly disheveled. She ran her fingers through her hair a few times, put on a little blush adding to the pink of her wind burned cheeks and applied some lip gloss. "Not an outstanding improvement but you've looked worse," she thought to herself. She pressed her ear to the door but heard nothing inside. She pursed her lips and blew slowly as if she was blowing through a straw. She swiped her card and put the weight of her hand on the door handle. She stepped inside and took in the beauty and sophistication of the room; the slanted ornate mirrors, crystal chandeliers, the champagne filled glasses atop the fireplace. Piper grabbed a glass of champagne, took a sip and swore it was the best tasting champagne she'd ever had. She tilted the bottle, _Dom Perignon_ she read, "oh Alex." Though she had grown accustomed to expensive liquors, and she still didn't mind her cheap pinots, she felt privileged to partake in all the new exposure tasting samples from Alex's journeys. She walked through the living area towards the bedroom, noticing the light on from underneath the bathroom door. "Hellooooo?" she said lightly tapping on the door mustering up all her willpower to not plow through the solid piece of wood separating them. "I'm about to spontaneously combust being on this side of the door, can I come in?"

"Just a minute babe, can you go sit on the bed?"

Piper lowered her brow but backed up slowly until the backs of her knees where against the bed and she sat down slowly, sipping her champagne.

"I can't believe you came to my job and didn't say hi," she paused, "but then again I also wasn't expecting all of this, this room, the champagne. I was planning on wining and dining you with _my_ skills at home tonight but…"

The bathroom door creaked open, "hit the light." Piper reached an arm behind her refusing to take her eyes off the light emitted from the cracked bathroom door, she set the champagne glass down, and did as she was told.

Alex slowly stepped into the light from the bathroom, her hair was curled and pinned all the way up, a red barrette placed just to the side. The contrast of the black lacy lingerie against her porcelain skin made Pipers jaw slowly drop down, she felt her mouth start to water. The black lace hooked around the brunettes long neck, transparent fabric covered her torso, but was tastefully opaque over her breasts. She wore black laced underwear, attached to gartered tights and black heels. She stood against doorway, seduction in her eyes, radiating confidence. She pushed off the wall and slowly stepped toward her blonde, dragging each foot slowly against the carpet until she stood right in front of her.

"Holy shit," Piper breathed out while she looked up at Alex, unconsciously licking her lips and swallowed, not wanting to literally drool over the side of her mouth. "You look so…," Piper tried to hold herself together, "sexy." Piper placed her fingertips against the fabric along the other womans' hips and relaxed her palms against her flesh while pushing up her abdomen. Alex's muscles tensed and she moved Pipers hands into her lap.

Piper placed her hands on the bed and pushed to stand up but Alex just placed a hand on her shoulder forcing her to stay seated. She unbuttoned Pipers shirt at a deliberately slow pace, purposely grazing the other woman's pale flesh. With her shirt splayed open, Alex danced her fingertips over Pipers skin, teasing the bottom of her breasts under her bra. Piper went to remove her shirt, when Alex's hands stopped her, "let me." She slowly removed her shirt, and leisurely sucked on the blonde's neck while gently lowering her back onto the bed. Piper brought her feet up onto the edge of the bed feeling Alex's ass against the top of her thighs. Alex continued to linger on her neck, sending shudders down Pipers spine causing her to breathe out a moan. She felt Alex's full lips against her own, she tasted of champagne and took in the faint scent of her lovers perfume. She felt Alex's hand start to move down in between their bodies, toying with the waistband of her pants. She slid a hand inside, past the heat of her center, and raked her nails up her inner thigh. She felt the other womans' hand slip into her underwear, it was met with wet heat. She felt Alex's hand track her opening, felt a single finger slip inside and let out a moan. Her finger pressed upward toward her abdomen as if beckoning. She arched her back against the lingerie clad brunette as another finger entered her. The pressure of her hot palm on her clitoris as she rocked her hand back and forth made her ache with a need for more. Alex removed her hand and returned it to Piper's waistline. Piper panted as she watched Alex crawl backward off the bed. She went over to the dresser and pulled out a dildo with a harness. She slipped a heeled foot into one of the straps and repeated on the other side. Piper quickly unbuttoned her pants and pushed them off of her legs. Alex crawled back on top of the bed and pinched the edges of Pipers underwear. Piper clenched her teeth as her underwear was slowly, tantalizingly pulled down her legs. Her skin shivered with goose bumps. She stretched her hands over her head until her palms were flushed against the backboard of the bed as she felt the tip of the dildo push slowly into her opening. It had been so long since she had felt her insides stretch and felt this full. Alex slowly retracted and gently pushed back in. Piper bought her hands forward and grabbed onto Alex's hips guiding her pace.

Piper sucked air in through her teeth, "Oh yeah baby, just like that." Alex wrapped her hands around the blonde's waist and Piper gasped at how good it felt to be filled and have Alex's hands on her body at the same time. She felt a hand curl around her thigh and pulled it up to wrap around her lovers waist. She felt Alex's weight shift, and felt her breasts against her own. Her other leg was guided around the brunette and Piper cried out long and low with the pleasure as she was filled even pulled Pipers head to the side and kissed at her neck as she pushed all the way in. The intense pleasure rolled from her pussy to her extremities. Her fingers stretched and her body quaked with sensation. She felt the dildo slide slowly back out, then back in again. Every muscle of her center quivered and squeezed. Piper felt every small move Alex made.

She sucked hungrily at Alex's neck. She held her hips and rocked in and out of her. "Fuck Alex, don't stop, fuck me, harder. God, yes!" Piper couldn't stop herself, she wanted Alex to consume her whole.

"I love the way you say my name. You like that? Moan for me." Alex jolted her violently with each pump, grunting as her thrusts grew deeper and deeper. She pulled out of Piper and commanded that she turn over. Piper got on her hands and knees, Alex slipped the dildo into her from behind, placed her hands on Pipers thighs, causing their slick skin to slap against each other. She traced her hand up Pipers back, into her hair and pulled it back slightly. She couldn't take her eyes off the blonde's ass against her thighs.

"Oh my God Alex I'm so close, don't stop."

Alex reached a hand underneath Piper, found her wet clit and started rubbing. "Your body drives me fucking wild Pipes!"

Piper squealed, her knees almost giving out, Alex moved her hand from her hair and grabbed onto her hip steadying her. Piper moaned out and she pressed her ass firmly against Alex's thighs as her whole body shook with pleasure. Alex pulled away from her slowly, removed the harness and collapsed face first onto Piper's glistening back.

Alex waited for Pipers breathing to slow before she moved the blonde hair away from her neck and planted soft kisses alongside it. Piper turned over onto her back so they were face to face. She cupped Alex's jaw in her hand, kissed her and said "you're amazing. You look so fucking hot right now." Alex bit her lower lip. Piper reached down and felt Alex saturated in wetness and told her to climb on top of her "I want to see you above me while I lick you."

Alex placed her knees on the sides of Pipers face. She gripped the headboard and sank down until she could feel Pipers breath against her need. Piper delicately licked Alex, savoring her taste. "I'm so wet for you Piper, you feel so good." Her hips started rocking against Pipers tongue dipping lower seeking more friction. Piper squeezed Alex's ass pulling her lower onto her face and dug her nails into her skin. Alex moaned out and rocked faster her legs trembling. Piper sucked hard on her clit while Alex bucked against her face until Piper felt her push back and she was consumed with Alex's juices. Alex cautiously let go of the backboard, and fell between Pipers legs onto her back. She kissed the underside of Piper's knee and she heard Piper let out a small moan.

"You sound so good, I need to hear more. I want to taste you." She felt Alex adjust her position right before she felt her face bury into her cunt and lapped around her inner thighs. She moaned in ecstasy as her tongue pressed wide and firm upon her opening, flicking lightly at her clit. She sucked at the rise of her button and rolled the tip of her tongue back and forth over it. She felt the brunette hum against her.

"Alex, what are you doing to me?! That feels so fucking good!" she sighed. Piper squeezed her eager face between her thighs. Her body shivered in pleasure. "Yes. Yes! I'm going to cum again," she felt Alex's hand cover her mouth, she smelled her own scent on her lovers hand. Alex continued to suck at her cunt until she howled and bucked against her. Sweat trailed down her back and lights burst in her darkened vision as an orgasm ripped through her.

Piper pulled her up beside her, and Alex propped herself onto an elbow admiring how beautiful Piper was. Piper traced her fingers into Alex's hair and unclipped her barrette causing her hair to cascade down her shoulder in soft curls. Piper pulled Alex on top of her and buried her face into her hair. Alex whispered "happy anniversary kid!," as Piper stroked her hands across Alex's back, it was going to be a long night.


	9. Chapter 9

9

Shallow breath. She inhales and tries to get more air, but she can only manage another shallow breath. Around her ribcage, it's tighter, she cannot expand her lungs. Her whole body is sore, a small grimace forms on her face but releases, it's a satisfying sore. Immediately bright, too bright, she squints, almost completely shutting her eyes, but then slowly re-opens. Dark, lots of dark, Alex's head shares her pillow, her hair splayed behind her. 12 inches is the distance that separates their faces. The brunette is sleeping deeply, her chest expands and contracts at a relaxed pace. Piper studies her face, feminine, strikingly beautiful and in this moment she notices her features are all the while placidly soft. Her shoulder rests beside her chin. Piper barely dips her head down, careful not jostle the other woman and sees that Alex's arms are around her torso, gripping her tenaciously. She shuts her lips tight, her belly shakes as she silently laughs at the giant contradiction that is her girlfriend. Fair skin against the shadows of her raven hair; her exceptional generosity is awing and yet she is able to inconspicuously steal the innocence of the world around her; a serene face attached to the same body that has arms so tensely surrounding her that she is being forced suck in and let out her breath with caution. Her brain resonates on her last thought for a while and she opts to continue the shallow breaths in exchange for a few more uninterrupted moments of watching Alex sleep. Piper buries the obvious oppositions; she continues to stare at the woman, in this one single second, time stops, she is perfect.

Pulsing- the arm that is extended underneath the pillow, under the weight of Alex's head, it's starting to tingle. She gently wiggles her finger, making contact with something silky. She raises her head slightly, and caresses the ribbon hanging from the attire that Alex endured for her throughout the entire night. She remembers the blur of the evening a few months prior, the alcohol that gave her the courage to inquire about Alex's fantasies and in exchange revealed many of her own. She remembered Alex acting as though nothing she had exposed to her was too risqué, but couldn't help but notice that Alex was rapidly pinching at her hip when she pressed on about the lingerie, intrigued if she'd go against her inclination to dominate, and submit to Piper's desires. She caught the intimidation in her tone last night when Alex had asked her to wait by the bed, from behind the bathroom door. But she owned it-last night, was for her. The last twenty four hours would be sketched into her being for the rest of her life.

Piper's arm becomes life-less; she removes it from underneath the pillow, disturbing the other woman, wrinkling glabella, she rubs her face against her shoulder. She slowly opens her eyes and then squints, Piper isn't sure if it's because she can't see her or because she's irritated. She is certain Alex is about to growl at her, when she snaps her teeth together in a bite and then inversely breaks out into a smile. From 0 to 100- the brunette enthralls her; her smile is contagious. Piper mirrors her smile just before she buries herself into Alex's chest smitten.

"Good morning," she whispers as she peppers her with delicate kisses before calling downstairs for the butler,

"butler?!," she blonde exclaims surprised.

"He was included in the room," the brunette shrugs nonchalantly, and has a delicious breakfast delivered to their suite. The champagne bottle from the night before is empty Alex informs her as she opens a new one and makes them mimosas. Piper peals the label off the old bottle and tucks the memento away under her shirt that lays across an armchair; they lay in bed all day feeding each other. Piper asks her some questions about her work and Alex answers them all honestly. They check out of their hotel and make their way back to their apartment.

* * *

Weeks passed by, Alex worked on her computer during the days while Piper worked through her shifts at the restaurant. Piper was laying with her back on the love seat, pillow propped behind her head, legs strewn over the side, book in hand. She toyed with her hair between her pointer finger and her thumb, a habit that Alex adored, eyeing her from the larger couch. As she was making upcoming arrangements for her mules, an email popped up and she refocused her attention and opened the document. Indonesia. She needed to leave in two days and there was no information on when she would be able to return. She tightened her mouth, Piper looked so comfortable, happy, she didn't want to break the news that she would be leaving the blonde behind again, this time for an indefinite amount of time.

Piper finished her chapter and walked past Alex noticing that she stopped breathing. "What's up, why are you being weird?" She recognized the look right away.

"Indonesia, I leave in two days."

"For how long this time?," Piper asked her trying desperately not to look heartbroken.

"I'm not sure Pipes. It takes days just to get there, and longer than usual because I need to make some stopovers. It could be a while though, I wish I knew a little more myself. If Fahri isn't giving me more details, it's probably pretty big, I'll be filled in a bit more once I'm there."

Piper nodded and went back to their bedroom. She pressed her hands on the wall beside their closet and steadied her breathing, she wouldn't cry. She opened the closet doors and starting pulling out their dirty laundry, she dragged the bags down the hall and left them in front of the stacked washer and dryer.

"I'll do that, don't be bothered with it, please, sit."

"I need to do this, it's therapeutic for me."

She put her hand on the laundry bag that was in Pipers grip. "Piper no, I know you're upset, I wish I didn't have to go for so long, but I'll make it up to you when I get back, we'll do something…"

"ALEX! Let it GO, just let me do the fucking laundry ok? Let me be."

Alex withdrew her hand and stepped back from the blonde. She went back to the couch and continued working. Piper felt the heat in her cheeks burning her skin from the inside, she threw the clothes in the washer and slammed the door shut. She walked with audibly heavy footsteps into the living room and tossed the red and black book she was reading on the couch inches from where Alex sat. "Take this with you, it's a great fucking book," she yelled, "and when you come back, I'll just pick it up and fucking continue, like it hadn't been gone, like I hadn't been sitting here eager to find out what came next."

Alex said nothing, she pressed a hand to her mouth and let Piper express her feelings. She heard Piper switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer. She went over to the kitchen and started cooking them dinner. About half way through Piper came into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Alex's waist.

"I'm sorry, I try not to care so much, I'll never get used to you being gone from here."

"Let's not focus on me being gone, instead why don't we savor the night, hmm? Wanna help me with this?"

Piper started dicing vegetables, while Alex grated the cheese for their dinner. They had a nice dinner, flirting throughout the night. Alex cleared their dishes and poured herself a glass of water. She grabbed Pipers book from off of the couch and followed Piper carrying a basket of now cleaned laundry into their bedroom.

Piper turned on some music, lit some candles around the room and started to fold the clothes. Alex sat on their bed upright one leg outstretched, the other comfortably bent and opened the pages to the middle of the book and pretended to read. Latimore's "Move and Groove" played in the background and Alex looked up from her book and saw Piper swaying her hips as she folded one of her blue sarongs. The blonde glanced over her shoulder to see if Alex noticed her hips moving in waves, and their eyes met. Alex slowly closed the book and told Piper to "get over here." Piper danced for a few more moments, keeping Alex entranced while she crossed her arms and lifted her grey tank top over her head revealing a lacy multicolored bra. Alex lifted her hand and bent her finger toward her, mouthing "come here."

Piper obediently stepped closer, placing a hand on one of the columns of their four poster bed, and grinded up against it. She teased her fingers along her shoulders,"are you gonna miss me?," she asked seductively.

Alex raised her eyebrows and replied, "yes", she shook her head to the side, her leg opened and closed fanning her hot loins, she was so turned on, she inhaled, "too much." Her own words drifted through her brain, spun a web through her chest and tugged at her heart. It was _too much_, she needed Piper, when she wanted her, all the time. Piper placed her hands on her hips and rocked her ass in a circle courting the brunette. Alex's eyebrows lowered as if judging her for not thinking of it before, "come with me."

Piper worked her way to the other side of the poster, confused if she heard what she thought she heard, "what?"

"Come to Bali," she grabbed the remote and turned off the music "come with me, I mean it, I'll buy you a plane ticket" she said smirking, and she removed her glasses, shaken by her own sudden brilliance. Why should she have to choose?

Piper stopped her dancing and kneeled onto the bed, why did she always have to fuck with her? Alex was staring her straight in the eye though, she didn't know if the other woman really meant it. She dropped her seductive tone, looked her up and down and asked, "are you serious?"

She had never been more fucking serious in her life. She leaned forward to her lover, raised her eyebrows and drawled, "yes," before planting a kiss square between her breasts. She pulled the blonde onto her lap, making her spread her legs open for her. "Come with me. Quit your job and come with me." She caressed her breasts and subtly inhaled her scent.

"Wh…I…,"Alex rubbed her hands along her breast and over her shoulder, letting it linger behind her neck, "I'd have to give notice."

She pulled the blonde to her and kissed her on her jawline before she laughed out, "you're a fucking waitress, you don't need to give notice." She continued to plant kisses on the blondes' cheek.

"Will I get in trouble?"

"God I hope so," she laughed villainously and continued to caress her breasts.

Alex kissed her on the spot of her collarbone that drove her crazy. She softly moaned out trying to steady her train of thought, she leaned her weight onto Alex, "you know what I mean." She grazed the brunette's breast unable to control her hands.

"You don't have to do anything," she told her while she fingered the underside of her bra strap. She fought hard to resist the urge to pounce on the brunette and let her finish explaining to her, "you're just there to keep me company, alright?" She couldn't resist anymore and she crashed her lips into the brunette's.

"Come on babe, I want you to come." She felt Alex's hand move into her underwear and felt two fingers slide inside. Her mouth slowly dropped open, pleasure overcoming her body, "and I want you to cum," she exhaled a moan while Alex's fingers continued to work their magic.

Piper was already losing herself, Alex tried to bring her back, "Yes? Is that a yes?," she needed to hear it. "Yes," she exhaled "yes."


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you so much for the continued support. I'm sorry there was such a delay after having quick uploads before. Busy time of year. Hopefully the longer chapter makes up for it a little. The reviews, favorites, follows are all greatly cherished, thank you so much.

Oh, I'm also aware content geographically deviates from the content in Kerman's. Lo siento for that lack of continuity.

* * *

10

"Why wouldn't I go? I have nothing to lose!"

"Nothing to lose? Mmmm how about your sanity, or your dignity, or your _life_ to name a few? What if you get caught or she trades you to pirates or something?"

Piper shook her head and looked away, they had been going at this for an hour. She was emotionally exhausted, she knew Polly wouldn't be supportive.

"Piper look at me, you're willing to follow this woman around the world. She is a _drug dealer_, oh my God, I cannot believe I'm having this conversation with you. This is not okay," she said stamping her foot, "Piper!?"

"WHAT?!" she screamed turning her head back to her friend. "Dammit Polly I hear you! I'm not asking you for your approval or if you think I've lost my mind. I just told you so I could let you know where I am and so you don't think I fell off of the face of the planet if I don't respond to a text message within thirty seconds." Regardless of whatever came out of her mouth, she did wish for her friend's approval, wished she could be happy for her despite the risks she was knowingly taking but managed to suppress.

"I told my mom I was going to be going abroad to write reviews for some shows. I need you to be able to vouch for me if she asks. I would never tell her what I'm really doing, for what?-to be judged and watch her plead with her eyes and try to convince me that I'm going through some kind of phase? I don't need this shit from you right now, I need my best friend, so can you just take the copy of my passport and be happy for me?"

Polly's neck dropped, she cradled her head in her hands. "Why are you so crazy? How can you just get up and leave? Aren't you scared at all?"

"She makes me crazy. I'm supposed to be with her, I feel it way deep in here," she clutched her fist to her stomach. "It's visceral; I have no power over that feeling. Polly, she's taking me with her to the other side of the world, no strings attached. She said I wouldn't have to do anything, that I was just there to keep her company."

"And _that's_ not selfish at all? What are you supposed to do while she's sending people off with bags of coke shoved up their exit only hole, huh?"

"Oh my God Polly that's not how it works."

"Then how does it work?"

Piper pursed her lips and laughs out, "I have no fucking clue. She doesn't talk about the details, I told her I don't want to know. But if I ask she tells me. It's on a need to know basis."

"What about my wedding? You're supposed to be my maid of honor. I need you to help me make decisions, go dress shopping, help me pick out flowers, and sit through horrible DJ compilations until I find the right one."

"I won't miss any of the big stuff. She'll have her computer, I'll have my phone just email me photos and things until I get back."

Polly nodded, not quite sure if she could believe a word from her wide eyed, adventure seeking, stupid lesbian best friend but she held her tongue and exhaled, "please just be so careful and let me know as soon as you get there."

"I will, I promise. She'll make sure I'm alright Polly, she always does."

* * *

"Polly this room is huge. It's easily five times the size of our old apartment. The staff comes in to turn down the bed and lace the tub with rose petals and oils. It has its own freaking pool!"

"That sounds horrible, I'm so glad you're regretting going along with that tall drink of water and calling to tell me you were frisked by customs and that I was right all along."

"I cannot believe I am here. We haven't gone anywhere yet but I'm so excited to get out and see the temples and the beaches. I was reading about this one spot in Lonely Planet…"

"You know, you must have a really impressive vagina, what the hell?"

"Yeah well, I had a good teacher."

"Oh ew. I'll talk to you later. Call me again soon ok?"

Piper dove off the wooden deck and into the private pool at the back of their villa. Alex had left their room before Piper had woken up that morning and was now just returning, the sun having gone down minutes prior. Piper longed for a bit of one on one time and was disappointed when Alex turned down her request to go swimming. Water droplets dripped down over her face, her back faced the villa. Alex walked out dressed in a light weight black dress, her hair pinned up with a red handkerchief holding her hairstyle in place. She hiked her dress up a little and sat at the edge of the pool dipping her legs in mid-way up her calves. She kicked a little water at Piper, "hey you, don't be mad at me Pipes, I'm tired, I had a long day. Why don't you come out and lay in bed with me?"

"I've been lying in bed for the last two days Alex, I want to go out but I don't know where I'm going, you said we'd do something fun."

"We will babe, I just need a few days to sort out some major plans and then we'll have some downtime alright?"

Piper floated on her back ignoring Alex's last remarks, a few days seemed like an eternity. She swam over towards Alex's feet and lightly tickled the bottoms receiving a fluttery kick shortly thereafter. She pushed off the edge and swam backwards a few feet. She undid her bikini top and snaked her legs out of her bottoms. She tossed her wet suit onto the edge of the pool and floated onto her back, causing her nipples to stick out of the water. She hummed along flutter kicking her feet, when she saw Alex stand up and start to walk back to the villa. She let her feet sink to the bottom of the pool, her shoulders slumped, her back once again facing the villa. A few quick footsteps and she felt a huge splash interrupt the water from Alex's fully clothed cannonball. Alex swam towards a light built into the wall of the pool and pressed her back against it letting her arms rest on the edge. Piper swam up to her almost instantly, hooking her ankles behind the small of her back, holding onto her shoulders. Water dripped from her bandana down her forehead and the sides of her face. Alex puts her arms around Pipers back and kisses her softly while walking around in smooth pattern around the pool, her dress floats behind them. She leans her back up against the pool and sighs, a small smile crosses her lips. Piper notices she does look exhausted. "Sorry Al, we can get out, you kind of look like crap." Piper swims over to the edge placing the bases of her hands on the edge of the pool about to hoist herself out when Alex pulls her back in.

The look in her eyes morphs from exhaustion to flirtatious, enticing. Alex fondles her between her legs, the friction is slightly rough due to the water washing away her own moisture. Her thrusts are slowed working against the gravity of the water. Piper comes quickly, clawing at the exposed skin of Alex's shoulders. She nibbles at Piper's bottom lip and whispers huskily, "I'm never that tired." She pushes herself out of the pool, drops her dress outside on the deck before walking into their room and closing the sliding door.

Piper follows the woman into the villa. Pool water drips off of Alex's body onto the bathroom floor. Piper imagines the water crying as it falls away from the most beautiful set of arms it ever journeyed down. She throws on a big grey t-shirt, and sits on the corner of their bed watching Alex pull countless amounts of pins from her now sopping tangled hair. Alex feels the blonde watching her, and she glances over her left shoulder,

"am I an exhibit or something? Quit staring."

Piper just smiles and continues to stare.

Alex hits the light and flops face first onto the bed, buck naked. Piper sidles up next to her bare skin and finger combs her hair; Alex's eyelids slowly shut, the blonde swears she can hear her purring. She grabs some lotion, compliments of the Ubud Hanging Gardens resort and returns to the bed, mounting Alex just above her behind. She squeezes a generous amount of lotion into the palm of her hand, rubs them together and begins to smooth her hands over Alex's upper back. She moves in outward strokes and concentrates on her shoulders and trapezius muscle noting its tensity. She massages the muscle deeply until she feels the tissue soften underneath the pads of her fingers.

"So, where did you have to go today? You look wrecked," Piper asked curiously while simultaneously not really wanting to know.

Alex opened her eyes suddenly and raised her head a few inches off the bed looking over her shoulder at Piper.

"What?"

"You were gone almost the whole day and your body is all tense in here," she squeezes her shoulders. "What did you have to do?"

Alex hardened her eyebrows and rolled her shoulders back.

"We had a big shipment come in today from Burma, fucking epic shipment. I was on the south side of the island waiting near the airport, the flight alone takes half a day. I had nine people carrying on that one flight , almost one and a half million dollars." She felt Pipers body tense against hers, she was silent, barely breathing. She slowly turned onto her side just slightly, careful not to knock Piper onto the bed, "hey kid, you alive?" Piper nodded, robotic. "So I tracked the flight for the better part of the day and watched that each of them walked out of the airport exit into respective cars and made it to a drop spot." Alex narrated nonchalantly, her shoulders now completely relaxed. "I have another one coming in the day after tomorrow and then I'll be free for a bit, we can get around the island and…"

"You're doing this again in two days?" she asked while rubbing her knees, still squatting atop Alex's body.

"Heck yes, this is what I do. Yeah it's intense for a day but then the high lasts for weeks and I get to take you to pretty places like this," she lassoed her pointer finger in the air.

Piper softly squeezes the skin between Alex's neck and clavicle noticing it's completely relaxed.

"See? I'm chill," Alex replies pointing to herself. "Look, just don't think about it ok. Look into stuff you want to see or do around the island, keep your brain busy with that." Alex pulls Piper down beside her and against her chest. Piper turns her head, her ear pressed up against Alex's sternum, all she hears is a slow steady beat.

* * *

Piper lies on the bed staring at the darkening sky, two days later. She's absorbed into the changing colors high above- purples, yellows, orange, pink. She was doing everything in her power not to turn her head toward the clock that she'd been staring at for the last hour, watching as each minute ticked by.

_Where was she? What if something terrible happened? How would she ever know_? The thoughts swam around her mind, she felt uneasy.

She rapidly shook her head as if clearing her mind like an etch-a-sketch. She made her way into a bag she brought as a carryon and dug out a new play, 'The Pillowman.' She took the book out onto a lounge chair and began to read. As she turned each page, the sky became darker. She tore through her book and 71 pages later, she was left feeling more anxious. She turned over onto her stomach, her arms hanging off the sides of the lounger, the backs of her hands lie against the ground. _If something happened, what do I do? Where would I even start?_

She loses track of how long she's been lying there when she hears the door of their villa close. Alex joins her outside on the lounge, she sits in between Pipers legs and reclines down onto her back snaking her legs over Pipers shoulders.

" I-Am-Beat," she states, pushing her glasses up on top of her head. "Minor flight delay my ass," she rubs her eyes, "that's what I get at the end of the wet season though, huh?," she takes her toe and pokes Piper in her crotch. Piper jumps at the touch, and audibly exhales. She pushes herself up from the chair and walks inside. She starts moving the contents around her bag, not looking for anything, but not knowing what to do with herself either. So many emotions synchronously cascade over her body-initially filled with so much relief she could cry but shortly replaced by hatred at the dauntlessness of the entire setup, such conscious reckless behavior, anger because Alex didn't even apologize for making her feel like her stomach betrayed itself and was about to fall through her ass. But why even expect an apology? Alex _never_ apologizes.

Alex slides the door open and stands over a crouched Piper, "so what do you want to do tomorrow?" Piper places the palms of her hands on the floor steadying herself from the shock- shock from Alex acting as though nothing unique happened today and shocked that after being so selfish, she was inquiring about something Piper wanted. She stood up snatched the hotel pad that held the attractions she scribbled down throughout the day off the table and shoved it into Alex's chest.

"Thank you," Alex replied to Pipers back as she walked into the living area. Piper slumped onto the couch, her elbow on the arm, face resting against her fist. Alex fell back into their bed, and looked over Piper's list pursing her lips.

Hours later, into the early morning, Piper finds Alex standing over her clad in an old Scorpion tee with cuffed sleeves, cut off jean shorts, a high ponytail and an overstuffed backpack. She roughly shakes Piper's shoulder telling her they need to leave in ten minutes and she can sleep on the way to Kalibukbuk.

The ride is quiet, Piper's back aches with tense anger, it resonates down her spine, all the while aware that Alex is functioning on little sleep sitting here beside her in this rickety cab. After about a two hour ride, they arrive at the base of the trail in Banjar Labuhan Haji and follow a local villager who's willing to show them the way up to the waterfall Piper wants to see. She can start to hear the rumbling of the falls, stones along the trail are slick with moisture. She hooks her thumbs in the straps of the backpack Alex packed for them and inhales the humid air around her following the sound. At the top of the waterfall, the water gathers in a calm pool and Alex slips the guide some rupiah to make himself scarce after Piper dares her to strip and go skinny dipping.

"Feeling audacious this morning aren't we?," Alex asks her stroking her side underneath the water. She felt her tension melt away at the brunettes touch. The water gently rises and sinks around their shoulders and after about twenty minutes, Alex dares her to jump off the edge of the waterfall.

Piper swims over to the edge where she saw their guide walk into the green shade of the trees, she waits a while until he comes into view.

"Have you ever seen people jump?"

"Oh yes miss," he said smiling.

"Have you ever jumped?"

"Oh no, miss!" he said, still smiling.

Piper walks out of the pool and eyes the path that she'll climb down in order to stick out a bit from the more jagged rocks. She hears Alex's voice, it's small due to the distance and the surrounding crashing of the weight of the falls. Alex stands about five feet behind her.

"Piper! I wasn't serious, get over here _now_ before you fall and break your fucking neck," the brunette yelled out to her, genuine fear overtaking her face.

_Serious._ She didn't care if this had been Alex's idea of a joke. She felt the cushion from the lounge chair her face lay against for hours the night prior waiting for Alex, as she did God knows how many dangerous, treacherous, illegal things. Piper snapped her neck back toward Alex and glared at her.

She bent her knees, stretched her arms out behind her and flung herself off of the rocks and fell down into the rough water below her. Thrilled at the fact that she had the courage to jump and happy that her head didn't crack on the rocks below her, she laughed and screamed at the top of her lungs as she saw Alex's naked body hit the water a few feet away from her. Alex swam over to her and grabbed both of her arms hard causing Piper's back to straighten.

"What in the hell is the matter with you? I was joking Piper! That was really fucking stupid!," Alex yelled at her, inches from her face, her eyes dancing back and forth, her breathing heavy.

"That was stupid!? Compared to what Alex?!," she yelled with seething anger, her eyes pleading with angst.

Alex said nothing but Piper could tell she understood the fear that she must have felt the night prior, to have mustered up the motivation to jump with such ferocity, reciprocating the feeling of not knowing if the other would come back alive.

Piper had evened the playing field, no further words needed to be exchanged. Piper shoved her shoulder while the brunette sneered and lowered herself deeper into the water and inched her body closer to the blonde. Almost instantaneously Piper felt a cold mushy consistency over her head, shoulders and now moving down her arms underneath Alex's rubbing hands.

"The mud is supposed to have healing properties. You needed a cool down." Piper tried to dunk Alex under but Alex managed to wrestle her off and Piper splashed into the water, and started washing the mud off.

Their guide stood at the edge of the pool holding their bag looking beyond ready to head back down. The women put their bathing suits back on and headed back down toward the beach. Along the sand they found a small shack serving some Balinese cuisine; Alex took the liberty of ordering them Nasi Campur. They watched their chef crack a coconut and whittle skewers to spear the satay's and cook their lunch on a wooden fire set on the beach.

"This is delicious," Piper states chewing the chicken satay off of her stick.

"The best satay's are in Java; we can take a ferry to get there, it's not too far," Alex tells her, her shoulders dance to silent music while she shovels in a mouthful of rice. Piper's body excited from within at the promise of seeing more places in Southeast Asia.

They walked down the beach, Piper sought Alex's hand, lacing her fingers between her own and held it tight in her grip. They walked along the beach for miles until Piper noticed the beach becoming denser with people. Alex told her to sit tight by the shore while she walked up behind her toward an older building. She came back for Piper wearing a scuba mask, the hard plastic under her nose flattening her top lip.

"How hot am I?," she asked posing with her arms outstretched, palms to the sky.

Piper laughed and grabbed Alex's extended hand as she pulled her up off the beach. Piper poked her in her upper lip, "sizzlin'." She followed Alex into the building where they had a quick private lesson before going out into the Bali Sea to scuba dive. Alex pulled a disposable underwater camera out of her backpack, an impromptu purchase from their hotel that morning, and looped the rubber band around her wrist. They took a few pictures underwater of stupid faces, of Piper swimming around tropical fish. Alex tried to dance underwater, her movements in slow motion, causing Piper to laugh and bubbles to escape from her mouthpiece. She swam to the surface. They slowly swam back and returned their equipment. They lay on the beach to dry off, Piper on her stomach facing Alex, Alex on her back propped on her elbows, looking at the water. Their skin absorbed the sunshine throughout the afternoon, the smell of salt water and sunscreen wafting around them.

"Wanna go somewhere a little ways from the crowd?"

Piper looked up at the sun as it began its initial descent. She nodded and backed up onto her hands and knees and stretched.

"Mmmmmmmrrrrrow," Alex growled at her.

"Are you ever not horny?"

"Kid, you have no idea."

They found a spot down the beach away from the mass commotion but still close enough to hear the faint music from surrounding beachfront restaurants and bars. Alex unwrapped her sarong from around her waist and laid it down on the beach for her and Piper to lay on. She pulled two bottles of juice from their bag, "apple or grape?"

Piper raised her pointer toward the apple and Alex handed her the bottle.

"Good, apple reminds me too much of pee."

Piper unscrewed the cap and took a sip, "mmmm, warm."

She looked behind Alex's back at the woman moving her hand around their bag. Alex looked back over at her, hand still in the bag and shrugged her shoulders, "Mary Poppins." She withdrew a pouch that resembled a makeup case and pinched out a small plastic container. Piper leaned forward a little and Alex pulled the container toward her body. "So eager are we." She looked into the container and pulled out two pills and handed one to Piper, "ecstasy."

Piper felt her palms sweat slightly underneath the pill that rested in her hand, "why is yours different?"

"Mine is Molly, it's stronger. You'll get too fucked up with this one. The person who I got these from, I know him well, his E is good, not full of bullshit chemicals." Piper eyed the pill in Alex's hand, waiting for Alex to take hers first.

Alex was about to pop her capsule when she picked up Pipers juice bottle and handed it to her, "the taste is really bitter, chase it with the juice. You'll thank me later—in more ways than one I hope," she winked and elbowed her in her side. Alex took her pill between her teeth, threw her head back and took a large gulp of her juice, Piper copied her motions.

"I don't feel anything," Piper remarked a few moments later.

"Well give it some time kid, Jesus."

"Well I don't know how long it's supposed to take!"

"Give it a half an hour or so." She paused for a while, fell back onto her elbows and looked around a bit, "so what do you think, liking Bali so far?"

"Yeah it's really gorgeous and the people are so friendly. I've never seen so many tropical fish before, they were so fearless and beautiful."

"_You're_ beautiful and _ridiculously_ fucking hot in that bikini."

Alex laid flat on her back, Piper rested her head on her shoulder, curling her body around Alex's. She focused on the rise and fall of Alex's chest, the music from the beach synchronizing in perfect rhythm. She brought her head up a bit and felt drawn into Alex's grey green eyes, the colors never more illuminating. Alex rubbed her foot along the bottom of Pipers leg, while Piper placed her hand on her own hip following the contours of her leg until she met Alex's. She pulled Alex's leg up over her own hip, she couldn't pull her close enough. Piper pressed her nose against Alex's, and bit her lip roughly "why don't I feel you inside me?," she craved her suddenly.

Alex kissed Piper sensually, Piper didn't dare break the contact of the kiss, her body filled with wanton desire, she was sure she'd collapse if her lips broke contact with Alex's skin. She pulled the left strap of Alex's bathing suit off her shoulder and started sucking on her breast, she nipped and sucked, Alex's taste was perfect, she let it rest on her tongue. Her teeth raked down the brunette's skin until she found a spot along Alex's ribs that made her jolt forward, Piper lapped and sucked until she was satisfied with her mark.

Her mind raced, her body followed the motions with fluidity. She sat back slightly on her feet and parted Alex's legs, she crawled up and leaned her moist center against the crook of the brunette's hip, each of her legs now wrapped back around Alex's right leg. She rubbed herself slowly at first against Alex's clit eliciting a moan from the brunette that caused her speed to pick up almost savagely. She clutches her hand at Alex's breast massaging it with the rhythm of her rocking hips. Her body starts to tingle, consumed with the feeling of her climax building. It ripples through her stomach and her pussy starts contracting, but she continues to ride Alex through the gasps as her body shudders against her lovers.

Alex holds her upright and steady with her arm just below her breasts. She sits up, mirroring Pipers position. She removes Piper's bottoms just before Piper's hips start to writhe beneath her again, her voice deepens, "uhhn, more." She tries to get up on her knees but they start to shake and she lies onto her back, devoid of any self-consciousness in her heightened sense of arousal and opens her legs exposing herself to Alex.

Alex makes a "turn around" motion with her finger and Piper obeys turning herself onto all fours and bends over leaning on her elbows. Alex draws a single finger from her clit to her ass, "oh baby you're so wet, is this all for me?" Piper can't respond, a whimper escapes through her barely parted lips. Alex breathes near her pussy, Piper's hips move just slightly anticipating everything, something, _anything_ that Alex is willing to satisfy her insatiable need with. She feels one long stroke of Alex's tongue and a flick of her clit and her hips move uncontrollably seeking more of the experienced tongue. "Mmmmm so bad," she drawls lightly spanking the blonde. Piper rises up onto her knees, she can't wait any longer, she motions as if she is going to change positions when Alex grabs her hips from behind and presses a hand to her belly pulling her tightly against her body. She runs her hand slowly down the sharp angle of Pipers hip and settles her fingers against her folds. She rubs her mercilessly, "tell me what you want."

"Don't stop, never stop."

Piper reaches her arms behind Alex and grabs onto whatever part of Alex's body her hands can stabilize on. She rocks back into Alex her moans grow louder, her desire is so strong, the stars glow brightly in the sky, the bass of the music gets louder and louder. "Ooooh God Aleeeeex, lick me, fuck me, you feel so good," her back starts to arch against Alex's chest.

And Alex stops. She fucking stops.

Piper falls forward onto her palms incredulously defeated.

Alex leans into her and nudges her neck with ravenous need. "Don't move." She inhales the blondes scent and is overwhelmed with her own need; she bites and sucks Pipers sensitive spot and she feels Pipers body shake beneath her. She sits in front of Piper, the black of Alex's hair blends with the darkness of the night but the blonde can smell her, and her eyes are drawn to the white of Alex's shoulders that peak through the strands of her long hair; the white slowly gets closer and closer, Alex sinks her back into the ground. She corkscrews her body through Pipers until she is perfectly underneath Pipers soaking wet cunt. Piper spreads her knees out further and lowers herself into Alex's mouth. Piper felt every nerve ending on her body open up to a different level. Alex bit into the flesh on her inner thigh and soothes it with a slow lick. She lapped up Pipers excess juices while moaning out how turned on she was when she felt how soaked she could make her.

Piper pulled the edge of Alex's bathing suit out of the way and eyed her hot, sensual, brilliant girlfriend's naughtiest part. She panted hot air against her center and licked it softly. She parted her lips and teased her opening with her tongue. She felt Alex's grip tighten around her thighs and pulled her closer. Piper opened her mouth like an "O" and enveloped Alex's clit and frenched it deeply. Alex licked her in long strokes down the length of her pussy trailing over her opening each time. Piper pushed down firmly wanting to feel her tongue inside, when she felt Alex open her mouth and suck her firmly. Piper buried her face into Alex and started rapidly licking over her clit, she needed to come now and she wanted Alex to come with her, but Alex continued her slow pace. Piper relented, stuck two fingers in her mouth coating them and slowly slipped them into Alex causing her back to leave the ground below them,"fuucccck me."

"I thought you'd never ask!," Piper panted and started moving her fingers in and out at a quickened pace while continuing to press circles over Alex's clit with her tongue. She loved the feeling of Alex's body moving beneath her. She followed her rhythm and moaned out as Alex's tongue filled her deep inside. Piper tried to control the roll of her hips desperate not to lose contact with the magical phenomenon that danced inside her. Alex's tongue wiggled around her hole, her hands holding her thighs, her thumb rubbing against her clit.

"Oh fuck I'm going to cum, cum with me." Alex rode her hard. Piper reached her hand between them and grabbed Alex's free hand, white knuckling it in her grip. Her body released an incredible orgasm, her eyesight blurred with glitter, an orgasm so strong she had to fight to keep her mouth moving against Alex, until she felt Alex arch underneath her followed by a myriad of sensual spasms.

Piper relaxed her body on top of Alex's until she felt Alex nibble the bottom of her cheek causing her to clench. She rolled off of her slowly, not able to fully feel all the parts of her body, and re-positioned herself, planting ravenous kisses over her sexual prowess. She rolled onto her back and they gazed up at the star filled sky.

"Alex look up at that one do you see it shooting across the sky?" her pointer finger aimed straight in the air.

"Yep."

"It's amazing, incredibly beautiful!"

"Yes Piper, a beautifully metallic hunk of metal called an airplane. You make Delta proud."


	11. Chapter 11

Hey all, thanks for your patience! Life and my other story kind of took all of my free time. I've been brainstorming and finally got my thoughts together so hopefully the pace will pick up!

Thanks for all the commentary appreciation for my love/sex scenes. They're fun to write.

Also very appreciative for the feedback that you think I capture the characters well. It's a struggle.

Oh also, whenever I read other fics that fans post and they mention a song I go look it up. Though all of the songs mentioned are mainstream, I posted them at the top of Chapter 1.

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11

They lay on their backs in the hot night air, the gentle wrestling of the palm trees heard above, a strong bass from a hotel's beach party Pulsing from afar. She felt the blonde turn, pressing her sweaty skin against the length of her body.

Piper hummed the tune of a song that Alex was unfamiliar with, as she traced the pads of her fingers across Alex's nipple; she rocked her hips against the brunette's leg.

Her hips swayed in forceful circles, her bone digging into Alex's hip,"hey Dancing Queen, wanna go check it out before you rub the skin off my leg?." she nudged her head towards the music.

Piper lowered her eyebrows deeply as if thinking hard, while biting her lip and continuing her pattern. The brunette stood up and brushed the sand off her legs. She tugged at the sarong that Piper still lay upon until it broke free, the blonde used her hands to ungracefully push herself up into a standing position.

"You can wear this," Alex handed her the sarong, while she dug her cutoffs out of her backpack. Piper slipped on her tank top pulling the shirt over the edge of the material she tied around her waist.

They walked down the beach til they got closer to the scene. People were sloppily dancing on the patio of the backside of the hotel and spilling out onto the beach. A remix of No Doubt's "Hey Baby" thumped on and Piper wasted no time rubbing her ass against Alex's thighs.

"I can't wear this Pipes, and I need a drink," she looked around at the crowd of tourists, "…..or three." Piper raised her hands over her head and danced while looking around; there clearly was no dress code but her girlfriend's shirt _had_ seen better days.

"Hey baby hey baby hey," she sang out while pulling Alex through the crowd toward the hotel.

"I'm gonna get us drinks, get me a shirt?" slipping Piper her shiny metal case that held her bills and the occasional blunt.

Piper bit her neck and shook her ass as she walked away. She perused the gift shop but the only shirts they had were neon colored tee's with the hotels name or Bali printed on them. She ran her hands over a silky square scarf and slid some rupiah on the counter declining a bag.

She found Alex with her back and elbows resting on the bar double fisting their drinks. Piper held up the paisley square with both hands like a matador.

"The fuck am I supposed to do with that?"

She looped the fabric around the back of the brunette's neck and pulled her away to a corner. Alex set their drinks on the ground.

"Hold your hair up," the blonde said as she tied two corners around Alex's neck like a halter. She slid the straps of the brunette's one piece off her shoulders and pulled it down so it folded over her shorts, and tied the other two corners of the scarf around her waist.

"Voila," she spun her around as Alex let down her beachy mess of hair, causing the blonde to spaz; she clapped excitedly and smiled widely.

"Just pull your bathing suit through your shorts, c'mon I want to dance," she said poking the underside of Alex's unsupported breast.

Alex snaked her bathing suit through her shorts and shoved it into her bag. She slid the bag over one of her shoulders, and was about to reach down and get their drinks when Piper stopped her, "please, allow me." She pressed her ass against Alex's thighs once again and slowly leaned forward to grab their drinks. She circled her hips, pushing back firmly and took her time easing her way up, and turned to meet Alex's eye.

"Is that what kids are doing these days?"

"Only the naughty ones," she said through her perfect white teeth. She rested her arms on Alex's hip bones, careful not to spill the drinks behind her back. She pressed her front against her.

"Was that supposed to turn me on?"

Piper squinted her eyes and pursed her lips pulling her neck back, "didn't it?"

"Maybe, I might need you to do it again, just to be sure." She took her drink from Pipers hand.

"That could probably be arranged."

Alex grasped Pipers hand and slipped it down the front of her shorts, her fingertips met her wetness, she inhaled sharply, "or won't be needed at all."

She removed her hand to grab Alex's free one and raised it over their heads and dragged the brunette onto the dance floor. Alex shoved their bag under a table on the beach, took a long gulp of her drink and stomped out the beat moving her body against the blonde. The air was hot and the space crowed, the beat of the base vibrated under their feet. Pipers hands were everywhere, raised over her head, through her own hair. She dragged her hands over Alex's exposed shoulders, until the brunette felt a clammy palm press against the small of her back and push so that the blonde, who was clearly still flying and mesmerized by the figure of eights Alex's waist was teasing her with, could be felt against her body. Alex smirked at the blonde's aggression, making her feelings explicitly apparent. The song faded and Britney's "Toxic" pulsed through the speakers. Piper brought her hand behind the nape of Alex's neck unable to control her desire, she nuzzled against the skin of brunette's neck, and whispered the lyrics into her ear,

"you're toxic I'm slipping under," she exhaled her hot breath against the brunettes ear,

"with a taste of a _poison_ paradise," she grunted,

"I'm addicted to you," she whined breathlessly,

"don't you know that you're," she thrust her hips twice, "tox-ic."

Alex, all too aware of her aroused nipples, held Piper close to her body, letting the blonde grind herself hot and heavily against her throughout the remainder of the song. A dozen songs, 2 water bottles and a whiskey shot later, they were drenched in sweat. Alex rapidly fanned her flushed cheeks with her hand, desperately trying to get the hot air to move around her face as a slower song came on. She stepped away and audibly sighed relieved that she could take a break as Piper pulled her back with both hands, step-touching from side to side, not showing any intent of stopping, Alex recognized the old 80's hit "High on You." She shook her head as the blonde's hands wrapped around her wrists and passively moved her arms around like she was conducting an orchestra. She was hard enough to get off a dance floor normally, and for a split second Alex regretted giving her the X, but she thought back to the romp they had a few hours earlier on the beach and decided indulging the blonde in another whirl was worth it; she sucked it up and joined in her corny dance.

She convinced Piper to sit for a while and breathe, she unzipped the small pocket of her backpack and pulled out her phone and saw 4 missed calls and a multitude of texts from Fahri demanding to know where she was and that he needed her in the morning. She texted him back saying she was on the opposite site of the island; seconds later her phone buzzed with his name, she flipped it open and walked down the beach toward the water. Piper walked back toward the hoard of people as if she was being lured, she wanted to hear what the DJ was saying. Alex yelled into her phone, frustrated at the insistence that she was required to be present for work the following morning. She was used to being called in on short notice but less than 24 hours was unrealistic and she made it clear she would not tolerate his abuse and threw in a few expletives for good measure. She returned to their table and threw herself into the back of the chair heatedly as Piper came skipping over, "Al, they're having a dance contest, c'mon!" she exclaimed excitedly, completely oblivious to the brunette's mood change.

"We just danced for like two hours Piper."

"No, they're going to show us a routine and then see who does it the best."

Alex raised an eyebrow and made a face as if she smelled something foul. The hope drained from Piper's face.

She saw the disappointment on the blondes face, "what do we get if we win?" Alex asked her unenthusiastically as she slipped her phone back into her backpack.

Piper shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know... I just thought it would be fun."

"I'm really not feeling it Pipes," she reclined back into her chair and crossed one leg over the other.

"Please?," Piper asked and smiled at her sweetly.

Alex peered over her glasses aware of the effect Piper's attempt at wooing her had on her heart, she knew she was a goner the second the blonde curled her lips upward, nevermind the way she leaned both hands on her knees and batted her eyelashes inches from her face.

Alex rolled her eyes while she sucked her teeth, and exhaled, "fine, let's go."

"Eeee," Piper squeeled and pecked her quickly before dragging her back over to the crowd to learn the routine.

They learned the choreography and brushed the dirt off their shoulders, did the sprinkler, dropped it like it was hot and grinded against each other 5 or 6 times smack talking their competitor's with their "damn right it's better than yours, "and "keep moving, off the floor, we would teach you, but we'll have to charge," commentary, as each contestant was eliminated before them; someone finally had mercy and removed the blonde and brunette delinquents from the dance floor.

They collected their bag and walked through the hotel lobby and onto the street. They walked along the main street with bright lights, shops and restaurants most of which were closed and looked around for a cab. They took in the sounds of the remaining nightlife when Alex felt Piper break away from her arm, previously linked, and watched her press her hands against the glass of a tattoo parlor.

"I want one!,"she said, her eyes darting over the designs displayed in the window.

"You're not getting one here. You cant just go to any random place and let them stick needles into your body."

"Why not? It looks clean, there's other people inside."

"You're gonna get yourself Hepatitis, do you even have insurance?" she asked nonchalantly raising her hand for a cab to take them back to their hotel 2 hours away. They climbed in, "if you still want one when we get home, ill go with you." Piper nodded her head and dropped the subject, convinced by her girlfriend's rationale. She laid her body across the back seat, resting her head in Alex's lap and fell asleep. Alex stayed awake during the 2 hour drive, only waking the blonde once they'd pulled up to the cul de sec of their hotel lobby. They stumbled through the door exhausted and collapsed fully clothed onto the crisp white sheets.

Alex cracked an eye open and stretched her long legs until they shook, gently rousing the blonde that lay across her body. She took a deep breath, inhaling a sour stench, "ugh, holy shit it reeks in here, what the hell is that?"

Piper raised her head and breathed in making a face, "I think it's us," she laughed out heartily. "We did go swimming and hiking and neglected to shower so…"

"uh and danced for 76 fucking hours like we were auditioning for Soul Train." Piper rolled over and hit the brunette in the face with her pillow. She slumped an arm over her eyes embarrassedly having remembered her dance-a-thon.

Alex rolled over her and moved her arm from over her eyes smiling wickedly.

"Thanks for last night," Piper murmured.

"You feel okay? Not hung over or anything?"

"I feel fine, the X was good," she said as she teasingly flicked one of Alex's nipples.

"Yeah it kept you going for a while," she said turning onto her side, propped up on an elbow, "maybe next time you should just lick it," she curled her tongue and teased it between her lips, making Piper's eyes widen and her cheeks uncontrollably blush.

Alex placed an order for room service and joined Piper for a shower. They slipped on robes, lying lazily on the bed until Alex got up to answer the knock at the door.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" she said clutching her robe closed tighter across her chest.

"Covering for your ass," Fahri looked over her shoulder at Piper who sat up alertly when she heard the tone in Alex's voice. He scratched his chin, remembering, "same girl?" Alex closed the door some and moved her hand in circles motioning for him to get on with it. "I told you I needed you this morning, you were supposed to meet me four hours ago."

"And I fucking told you, it wasn't happening."

"You're distracted," he nudged his head toward her bed, "and you're going to get _burned,_" he dug a finger into her forearm as if he was putting out a cigarette, she pulled away hard and fast revolted at the touch. "Kubra's pissed."

Alex cleared her throat, she felt the acid rise as her stomach knotted.

"You can play house on your own time. He wants us to set up in different locations around the gulf of Thailand." He handed her a large envelope; she unwrapped the cord holding the flap closed and withdrew the documents. "You need to phys-i-cal-ly be there," he broke it down condescendingly. "I covered for your ass this morning, get your shit together."

He looked over her shoulder and made eye contact with Piper, she quickly averted her eyes and moved out his sight lines. "Cute," he nodded approvingly at Alex's taste, "but there isn't room for both," he said looking into her eyes, "lose the blonde." He walked away and Alex slammed the door.

"Asshole," she muttered under her breath taking large steps back toward their bed, she flopped onto the crumbled comforter and looked over the papers.

"Who was that?" Piper asked wide eyed, her voice shaking slightly.

"No one," she said annoyed, "pack up, we're going to Thailand."


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you guest and guest. I'm trying my best.

Lookuptothesky, glad that soul train killed you and was able to resurrect you and kill you again, that's some pretty strong dancing.

8isgreat08, um toxic is pretty hot, and especially that version, ha!

Thank you again to whoever is out there reading, follows, favorites, and reviews are treasured.

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12

Piper packed up the room they had set up camp in, feeling like a gypsy, while Alex looked into making arrangements to get them to Thailand in the next few days.

She opted to take the ferry to east Java and woke Piper up in the middle of the night to make the best of their limited time. Well before the sun had risen, they started their hike up the difficult terrain of the Ijen Crater, stopping several times along the way to rest and re-hydrate.

"I swear you look like a kid out of Troop Beverly Hills but you smoke my ass every time," Alex pants out to her while sitting on the ground and sips her water.

"You should've eaten your Wheaties this morning," she replies as she bends down to tie Alex's sneaker, blinding her with her headlamp and hoists her back up. They hike to the top passing laboring sulfur miners who grunted under the weight of their load along the way. Piper looked down into the smoky blue light below, as Alex told her about the acid lake that consumed the sulfur then emitted the blue flames,

"that's _so_ cool, how long did it take you to get up here last time?"

Alex shook her head.

"Was it _that_ bad? 3 hours? 4 hours?," she pokes at Alex since she managed to get her to the top in just over 2.

"I've never done this climb before, okay? Let's go," and she walked closer to the edge.

"Where are you going?"

"Down there," she pointed to the smoke, "I want to get closer to the flames."

"Uh, you mean _into_ the fire?"

"It's not _in_ the flames but you can get really close. The best view is before the sun rises though we have to go now."

"Why haven't you done this before if you've been here so many other times?"

"Cause it's fucking creepy, and I was afraid I might fall and die," she replies matter of factly while buying a piece of carved sulfur from one of the miners and hands it to Piper.

"Oh so now you're not afraid?," she asks inspecting her new souvenir.

"No I am, but if you were willing to jump off that cliff, I thought you might be willing to climb down this thing with me."

She looks at the brunette amused, "and wasn't it you who screamed at me and told me I was really fucking stupid for doing that?," she looks over the edge and takes in how steep and rocky the continued "path" actually is. "No one else is going down there Alex."

"Yeah well, what if I die tomorrow? I don't want to have any regrets, this is once in a lifetime," she says pointing down the rocks.

"Yeah a lifetime that is about to be dwarfed or continue on with us being severely disfigured." She swings her backpack onto the front of her body and places her figurine into the small zippered compartment, holds onto Alex and descends the first jagged step. Alex places both of her hands on Piper's shoulders steadying herself to get onto the same step as Piper and they make their way down the rugged terrain, passing the "No Visitors Passed This Point" sign and arrive an hour later as close as they can get to the flames. Illuminating blue flames shot up from the ground against the contrast of the blackened sky, she feels the squeeze of Alex's arm around her waist; she felt like she was on another planet, in a different world.

They stay crouched below the rest of the world for an hour's time in awe of the space around them, ignoring the occasional other brave/asinine soul who managed to make it down there. They climb up before the sunrises over the fluorescent green acid lake settling their heads on the backpack to take in the scenery.

"Thanks for coming with me," Alex says while nudging Piper with her hip.

"Oh for the little pre-sunrise warm up?," she laughs, "no problem. I feel kind of ignorant, I never even knew this existed."

Alex doesn't comment, she lays her head on Pipers shoulder and rests her eyes. Piper clasps her hands across her stomach and watches the sky become lighter and lighter and wakes Alex up to watch the colors shine over the lake.

They descend back down the mountain, while Alex stops to ask a local for directions to any form of transportation, while Piper grabs a satay from a food truck. Alex beckons for her to come near while Piper finishes ripping the meat off her stick.

"Where'd you get that?," she asks cautiously but also with a twinge of jealousy as she's starving.

"That cart," she points to the truck driving away, "you said the best satay's were from Java, no?"

"Not off a truck Piper, you couldn't wait til we got somewhere with a sink?"

The trek back towards the more populous streets of Java were derailed by the constant musical grumbling of Piper's intestinal tract,

"Are you gonna puke?," Alex asks Piper as the blonde grips her stomach.

"No, other end," she screamed worriedly as she darted off into a field and popped a squat into the high grass bushes beside a local home, drawing the attention of many Javanese villagers who stood by and watched her poop.

Alex took her to the infirmary on the ground level of their hotel to see if there was anything she could do besides stand by and ride out the unavoidable stomach virus, but she was told time and a BRAT diet, "bananas, rice, apples, tea and toast," was the only remedy. "Brat diet," Alex thought to herself as she laid on the floor beside Piper, who had banished her from the bed earlier, _how ironic_.

"If you hadn't told me Java's satay's were the best, I wouldn't have grabbed one!," she snapped at her in uncomfortable pain, as she turned away from Alex's hand that that tried to rub her tummy soothingly.

"Do not even try to blame this on me, like it's my fault you jumped at the first sight of food like a damn vulture."

She walked over to the other side of the bed to face Piper, when the blonde turned away from this side as well,

"screw this then take care of yourself," Alex said walking out of their room and into darkness of sitting room to catch up on some work. Between the early morning wake up, the trek and her body failing to fight off the virus, Piper finally passed out, completely exhausted and Alex took her audible snores as a sign that she could safely return to their room. She checked on the blonde, placing a feather light touch to her forehead to make sure she didn't have a fever before laying a pillow on the floor beside her and went to sleep.

The journey from Java to Thailand remained tense as Alex was swamped in plans, and was forced to neglect Piper to explore on her own. Piper's phone buzzes alerting her she has a message from Polly inquiring about when they're expected back so that she can make an appointment to go dress shopping. She fills Polly in on her latest itinerary and when she's expected to make it home.

"Did you guys set a date?"

"October, it's off season so the cost is just slightly less barbaric. I think we're going with orange and purple, I'm sending you pics of things I'm looking at, check your inbox."

"Alex hasn't set up her computer here yet and I don't know if I'm supposed to be here or not, I don't want to go to the front desk."

"Well can you get to a computer?"

Piper walks through the dead heat of the overly packed floating market in Bangkok, sipping what must be her 50th cup of cha yen since they arrived in Thailand a week ago. She manages to get through the crowd and settles in an internet café, and browses through the dresses Polly sent her via email. Another email arrives a minute later pleading with Piper to help narrow her options for bridesmaid's dresses before she shows them to the rest of her bridal party. Piper replies when another email with dozens of links of different bouquet combinations using purple and orange flowers pops up. Polly makes fun of herself at the bottom and says she could also send emails with wedding officiant's, song choices for reception introductions and their first dance, and entrée choices but she'll try to refrain until she sees her.

She makes her way back to her room and is surprised to see Alex in their room pacing, "where were you?"

"I just went to chat with Polly, whats wrong?"

"Nothing, I just didn't know…nevermind," she said frowning, "wanna go to the parade?"

"What parade?"

"The new years parade, Songkran?," Alex says in a thick Thai accent.

"Is that what that is? I kept hearing people say it, but I just thought it was a common Thai word."

"Yeah, you wanna go?"

The blonde grabs her purse and heads for the door when Alex tells her to go put something else on, something she doesn't care about while she tucks her purse away.

Alex stops at a vendor a few streets over from the parade and gets them two massive water guns, "kob kun," she tells the owner, nods slightly and exits pulling Piper behind her.

She bends down to fill their water guns from a bucket outside the shop and hands the first to Piper.

"What do you speak 16 languages?," she asks Alex.

"No I speak four words of 16 languages, 'bathroom, help, water and thank you,' very important."

She screws the cap onto her water gun and squirts Piper playfully, finally breaking the tension between them. She takes her hand and walks her to down to Khao San road to join the crowd for the parade; and there is water _everywhere_. Water being thrown at the young and the old, from guns, buckets, in forms of foam, out-of-elephants-trunks. Piper marvels at the majestic creatures parading up the street. It's celebratory and happy, people are soaked to the core, a small buckets worth of water is hurled through the air and soaks the blonde down her down her back. They shoot their water straight into the air and let it fall on them like rain. They're both drenched with sopping wet shoes before they duck out underneath the crowd; Alex orders them "real Pad Thai and two cups of Tom Yam Goong, " and they people-watch the passersby into the evening.

She stands behind Alex among thousands of others, locals and tourists alike, waiting by the water for the pyrotechnical extravaganza. Alex stands with her hands in her pockets and looks around, Piper notices how tired her eyes look and wishes she had more time off with her to have more days like this. She presses her body against Alex's back, and snakes her arms through Alex's arms. She rests her chin on her shoulder and blows a loose strand of dark brown hair away from her neck before planting a kiss on Alex's hot sweaty skin. She feels Alex rest her head against her and sighs. Piper closes her eyes tight and tries to make a memory of how amazing she feels in this exact moment, safe against the tall protective frame, while being full of Thai cuisine, still soaked down to her underwear as the sound of fireworks explode over their heads.

They hop from Thailand to Cambodia, and Alex is consumed by the glowing screen of her computer for hours upon hours of everyday, taking phone calls into other rooms so that her work and Piper remain two separate entities. She is able to spend the occasional morning with the blonde on the beach or in the cool shade of the Angkor Wat temple. Some day's she's gone before Piper wakes up and returns after she's gone to bed. Piper barely sees her for the next few days, but knows she comes back at night by the warmth of her skin in the bed, or a strand of hair left behind on her pillow. The blonde tries to distract herself by looking up information on local attractions that she can see on her own, or by watching tv in foreign languages, making up her own dialogue. Alex informs her after weeks of brutally long hours, that they could go home early, or stop somewhere else just the two of them, if she wants, on the way.

They lay out on the chaise lounges atop the deck of their hilltop villa at the Four Seasons in the Seychelle's. They make love on every imaginable surface, unable to fuck for it's impossible to have that kind of energy when you're this relaxed. Late morning daily massages after room-service breakfasts of fresh mango and jackfruit, are mixed into the late afternoon sunset walks along the beach. They've run out of clean clothes, Piper gathers their laundry one morning while Alex eyes her lying serenely among the 500 thread count cotton sheets and tells her that work of any kind is not allowed here and tells her to throw them into the hall. The television is a decoration, cell phones are off limits; their love is rejuvenated, as they absorb every ounce of each other in lost time.

* * *

She drops off her suitcases at their apartment and high tails it to meet Polly for a reunion. Alex stays behind, insisting she needs a seven day nap. She is engulfed in the biggest hug from Polly as she's so relieved that her best friend is back and safe, and is then immediately shoved because her skin is blacker than Polly's hard earned tanned skin.

They arrive at the bridal shop for an appointment that Polly scheduled when she found out the day Piper would be back, to try on "two bridal gowns that will defy any pre-conceived notions of the antiquated nature of marriage."

Piper watches the attendant help Polly into a dress that is,

"nice," Piper unenthusiastically states with a small smile.

Polly raises her eyebrows, "and?"

"Completely unexciting," she scrunches up her face apologetically. "Pol it's way too casual, and it looks like a dress you already own in black."

"I'm really comfortable in it though."

"Probably because you already own it?"

"Ok you're probably right. I don't really feel like a bride in it."

She listens from behind the curtain as the attendant helps her friend out of dress number 1 and into dress number 2, which is taking far longer than dress number 1; Piper takes this as a good sign, it should at least be more elaborate. It takes so long that it gives Polly the time to rant about her philosophical discoveries regarding marriage and how she refuses to use traditional vows for she is determined not to "obey" any man for both reasons of personal pride, and out of fear she'd shame any of the seven sisters. Piper nods on the other side of the curtain in mock approval of her friend's new enlightened self.

The curtain is pulled open, and Piper immediately wished it hadn't been. Dress number 2 was the exact opposite of dress number 1; it was so avant-garde that Piper clenched her jaw out of fear it would otherwise hit the floor.

"Can we just have a minute?," she asked the attendant politely, in case the attendant may also be the owner of this store and therefore approved this atrocity to be put on human people. She watched as the lady stepped out of earshot,

"are you trying to channel 'Like a Virgin' Madonna?"

"Piper this dress is…"

"horrendous," she exclaims cutting her off.

"Fuck off, you really don't like it?"

"Not even a little. Polly you're beautiful and this is… oh, it's just not. You waited two months for me for this? Off off off."

Polly wrinkled her brow seconds from protest when she caught herself in the 3 way mirror and started laughing, "who am I kidding?"

"I will not let you walk down the aisle in anything short of stunning, do not worry."

Piper calls the woman back and tells her it's beautiful but not for Polly. The woman helps her get undressed and Polly walks out in civilian clothes. They start walking down the sidewalk, Piper basks in the sights and sounds of New York summer while Polly tries to justify her pending nuptials despite her past views that "marriage is a societal expectation of those who choose to be monogamous, which is already a queer concept in and of itself, do not get me started…."

Piper quietly laughed to herself, her friend was so full of shit, but she had missed the egotistical shrimp so much. Polly had been with Pete before she had met her, she hadn't known them apart, and while she thought it would be a beautiful step for them to seal their love with a marriage license, she couldn't see it for herself. She listened to Polly go on for blocks ignoring the fact that she'd already managed to contradict herself countless amounts of times; she comes full circle and gets back to her ideas including types of wedding dresses and concludes that she wants something completely different than what she thought she wanted and needs to start browsing from scratch. They're gliding down Lafayette when Piper stops dead in her tracks and stares at the notorious black and white poster, with hints of neon, advertising Shakespeare in the Park.

"Tell me that's not Sam Waterston?," she stares into the ad plastered to the side of the telephone booth.

"That's not Sam Waterston."

"Polly that's Sam fucking Waterston, he's gonna be in Much Ado at the Delacourte!"

Polly jumped up and down and stopped abruptly, mocking Piper, "he's _been_ in Much Ado, it started last week Pipes."

"Alex loves Sam Waterston, Pol, she watches him in Law and Order reruns all the time." She places her hands on the edges of the booth, "I have to get tickets."

"You're going to camp out on the sidewalk like a homeless person to get tickets?"

"You should come with me!"

"Three hours of Shakespearian tongue _and_ Supercunt?"

Piper looked at her friend with an endearing smile as _Supercunt_ left her lips.

"Tempting offer to be part of your dorkathon, but no thanks."

"I would just like to do something nice for her for a change…and I'm broke, my options are kind of limited."

"You're really going to ditch me for this? I just got you back."

Piper looked at her with a slightly guilty frown as she texts her lover confirming that they'll be free the following night. Polly found it hard to argue when Piper had kept her updated in blips and blurbs of the places Alex had taken her, most of which really were up Piper's alley.

"Fine, I'll sit out with you until I start falling asleep. Can I at least go over some other stuff I looked into while you were adding stamps to your passport?"

"Hey that's not what I was doing," she states offended.

"You weren't island hopping, and letting her buy you pretty little things? Like really, what the fuck is with these earrings? They're gorgeous, I hate her."

Polly lifts her hand and fondles one of Piper's Indonesian pearl cluster earrings.

"Don't be jealous, you're getting married."

"She spoils you, and you love it. You can say it, I'm not judging you."

"I do love it, but…"

"See! I knew you did!," gloating, "And besides Pete will never have a woman's taste, soak it up lesbian."

Piper raised her hand, "not that I need to prove anything to you, but I could take her out on the cheap and we'd be fine. I mean the pretty things are welcomed, don't get me wrong, but they're not necessary." Polly raises an eyebrow at Piper not believing a word of what she's saying to her.

How her friend managed to kill her mood about this woman every time she saw her, was beyond her, but she couldn't settle the words that spewed from Polly's big mouth as they somersaulted through her brain; fuck her, Polly didn't know Alex…

Alex is mid-explanation about needing new mules who are capable of following strict instructions, "the all-American, someone who won't draw attention, essentially the exact _opposite _of me," since she herself had just been violated thanks to the new post-911 security enforcement.

Piper walks into the bar, the fifth of the day, she glances around the space and decides it's small enough, that she'd be able to handle it on its busiest night.

She glances over at this post-collegiate, free love wannabe, catching her profile just slightly, and it sends tingles down her spine, no, a little lower than that; a little lower. The moisture gathers underneath her dress, she adjusts herself.

She's intrigued by the effect that this angle's just had between her legs, and wants her to turn around to see if her face is as much of a disaster as her wardrobe. She needs a gimmick,

"Hey you, Laura Ingalls Wilder."

She turns… and-shes-beautiful.

"We're skipping America before the apocalypse, wanna come?"

"Sorry?," she sweetly answers, before turning away, re-focused by the bartender/potential future employer.

Alex's eyes bug out of her head and she turns back towards her friends, "jackpot."

Her friend with mocha colored skin looks over her shoulder, "her? uh uh, she's jailbait with zero life experience, no."

"She'll cry going through security," another friend adds causing Alex to almost choke on her beer.

"She's cute," she confesses to her friends, causing a few of them to raise their eyebrows, no one ever caught their friend's eye like this, she got laid on the regular but more so to fill a quota not because of swoon; she subtly glances back over at the blonde, "and I think she just got rejected for her dream job."

"Because she's clueless, let it go Alex."

"Leave her alone, she should go for it," a friend encouraged the more doubtful in the crowd.

"I think she just ordered a fucking margarita," Alex admitted, questioning her taste and making her friends have another laugh.

"Fuck it," she inhaled, stood up and went in for the kill.

Piper felt this alluring beauty slink up beside her, and wasted no time on calling her on her puerility. She had the appeal of defiance, and a brash confidence, that was instantaneously charming.

Then she picked up her resume. _WHY!,_ she wanted to shake her fist to the Gods, _why_ did she have to leave it on the table. She was open prey.

She picked apart her resume and called her on her lies, bullet by bullet. She was cocky and facetious and just borderline degrading, and yet she craved for the brunette to continue; she felt like a masochist.

She looked over her shoulder, _is this real life?_

"So, Piper Chapman…"

She couldn't remember a time where her name sounded so striking. She got lost in the brunette's full red lips and willed them to spill her name again. Her eyes stepped upward and stared at the brunettes perfect nose and then to the mesmerizing eyes behind her mysterious glasses. Her body betrayed her mind, she wanted this woman and now, all she could think about was how her tone was mocking her resume and tearing her apart. She stole it back, dripping with embarrassment, she had to get out of there.

Alex read the turmoil on her face and decided to stop fucking with her before this sweet girl took herself and her soaking wet panties and ran out the door, "I like that in a woman," the girl brought her hand away from her face, _save._

This girl was sweet but not innocent enough to have fought the temptation to lie her ass off all over her curriculum vitae. All thoughts of recruiting this girl as a mule, vanished as her eyes lit up and the smile crossed her face, she wanted this girl for herself.

She walked Piper over to her table of friends, shared a few more beers before hitting a different spot. Later in the night she laid her shit bare to make sure the blonde understood she was serious about her job, so if she wanted to go now, the door was open.

"They're all involved?," Piper asks referring to Alex's friends as she bites the inside of her lip.

"In one way or another," she stared into her eyes, curling her lip upward.

Piper was intrigued albeit wary of this beautiful stranger, she couldn't help but long to smack that smirk off her gorgeous face and slip her tongue into her mouth, she didn't care what she was involved in, and definitely didn't have the right mind to think of anything other than those lips, never mind her income.

She snapped back to Polly's hand shaking her shoulder; maybe she could've once understood her best friends view of Alex, but even after everything she'd told her? She still just saw the exterior of a woman with a lot of sex appeal and a big wallet. She failed to tell her that Alex had grown up with nothing and was afforded the luxuries she surrounded herself with by taking risks every day; this was something Alex confided in her in faith, and she chose not to share it with Polly feeling it was none of her business. Piper grew up affluent and was no stranger to the five star hotel or dinner served via white glove, but when she was among her family, she felt dragged into the circumstance and they took advantage of these luxuries because they could, to establish their status. With Alex, there was a different appreciation for the finer things, a sense of pride, accompanied all of the brunette's choices, they were well thought out, researched. But while Piper thought that Alex wouldn't hold herself above being the recipient of a cheap date, Piper wondering if they'd have a good time sans the champagne and caviar.

Polly accompanies Piper to her and Alex's place to grab some things for the evening of living on the street. Alex gropes her at the door as Piper giggles into her neck and tells her "Polly is in the hall."

"So?"

She swats her on the ass and saunters off into their bedroom to grab a pillow and shoves some things into the pillowcase.

She returns with an armful of souvenirs for Polly, kisses Alex long and hard and tells her she'll be back tomorrow afternoon.

Piper swings her pillowcase over her shoulder, really rocking the hobo look and goes uptown with Polly so she can now drop off all her presents and "get something to kill time with."

She comes back out of her apartment with a large white binder, and Piper looks at her with shifty eyes, "Oh what the hell is that?"

Polly goes into hysterics flipping through "the wedding binder," complete with individual tabs to separate the different categories.

Piper's eyes go wide and guffaws as she looks on through literally hundreds of pages, "Oh God, okay, well this will definitely kill time." Polly tucks the binder under arm and they head to the park to reserve a space in line. Piper looks on page by page making notes, approving and eliminating dresses, hairstyles, foods, and gives Polly a lot of credit for doing so much of this daunting work on her own. She dedicates hours of undivided attention, getting lost in wedding plans and really is genuinely so excited for Polly to make this commitment to the man she loves. Well after midnight she divulges that she really wants to take Alex on a memorable date around the city but will have to do it on a tight budget. Polly listens as her friend rattles off idea's, her face is excited, illuminated by the harsh lighting of the park lamp, and she realizes despite how many days her friend spent alone in a hotel room while Supercunt went off devising mobster tactics, her friend was in still deeply in love with her.

Polly stayed with Piper until the sun came up; she knew she just survived months in foreign country's surrounded by Alex's illegal ways, but this was Central Park and she didn't want to leave her out there alone. She applauded the blonde for being willing to endure another 7 hours until the tickets would be issued, and Piper really felt the boredom while she waited alone among other psychotic theater enthusiast's. 1pm rolled around, she got her pair of tickets and trudged home. She leaned over Alex who was reading a book laying out on their couch, and dangled the tickets in close proximity to her face, as the brunette did half a year ago, "wanna be my date?"


End file.
